Malaysia Gambling Law
In Malaysia our gambling laws are quite interesting. Resorts World Genting is reachable in about one hour from our capital Kuala Lumpur by train. This is where Monte Carlo Casino, Hollywood Casino and StarWorld Casino are located. It is however illegal for 60% of our population to use these casinos – specifically Muslims. The same applies to other forms of gambling here too.
As per the remote gambling act which was implemented in 2014 legal permission is given to Malaysians they can take part in all types of remote gambling. So, in remote gambling one can gamble through phone, TV and other types of technology. Key Facts: Online Gambling In Malaysia. Betting Act (1953) states any gambling licenced and approved by government is legal. One large land based casino, horse race betting and lotteries all legal. Banks and internet cafe owners can be punished for facilitating online gambling. As yet players have not been punished for online gambling. Gambling activities in Malaysia are strongly regulated by a set of rules and laws, under the Betting Act 1953. Being mostly a Muslim country, the local authorities have created a legal framework which bans various gambling games. Whether you live or work in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malacca or any other city or state in Malaysia, read on to find out more about the online gambling laws that apply in Malaysia. We explain whether it is legal for Malaysian’s to play real money slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and other games. We would like to acknowledge the Coast Salish People of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations for their gracious hospitality. It is an honour and a distinct pleasure to work within their traditional territory.
In this article I’ll explain the laws, what forms of gambling are legal, and how this differs for Muslim and non-Muslim. If you are interested in Online Betting from Malaysia there is a Part II article that you can read on the bottom of this page.
Betting Act 1953 and Exemptions
The primary law that regulates gambling in Malaysia is the Betting Act of 1953. This was amended in 1958, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1992 (twice), and 2006. The link provided is to the current copy which includes all amendments.
This Act is about 20 pages and is written in simple easy to understand English. While there are many laws and very little is left out, let me mention the primary law for players. Here the penalty for unlawful gambling is set at “a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.”. It also includes much stricter laws for those involved in operating, promoting or having any non-player involvement in gambling businesses.
There are however many forms of legal gambling under the Betting Act. It specifically states the penalties do not apply to approved and licensed gambling. As mentioned in the intro to this article, for that we have legal casinos that are available. We also have legal pari-mutuel horse race betting due to the Racing (Totalizator Board) Act 1961. Lottery is legal here too which originally government owned has been private since 1985. You can learn about that at www.sportstoto.com.my.
Sharia Law Applies to Mulsims
The legal forms of gambling mentioned above are mostly designed to target Chinese (about 1/3 our population), other minorities, and tourists. Under Malaysian law all ethnic-Malays are required to be Sunni Muslim. They are therefore subject to Islamic Law which makes gambling a serious crime. For those not familiar with this take a look at Penang’s Syriah Criminal Offences Enactment of 1996.
The above link is a decent scan for anyone not familiar with Malaysian Law. Here you will find penalties for enticing a female person, abuses of halal sign, preventing a married couple from cohabiting, and all sorts of items not typically found in Common Law. Section 18 sets the penalty for Muslims caught gambling at a fine up to 3000 ringgit, or 2-years imprisonment, or both.
The above is only an example from one of Malaysia’s 13-states. However, each and every state has similar laws. Each state also has an Islamic Religious Affairs Department, whom among other agencies, enforce Islamic Sharia law. Even Muslim tourists are subject to these laws. There have been recent cases of Indonesian and Pakistani men arrested while on holiday for visiting casinos that are legal to about 40% of the population.
Political Climate of Malaysia
This article might misrepresent Kuala Lumpur. This is actually a very friendly city to live. However there are some strange situations here. Since 2000, all video games have been banned in the country. Today there are internet cafés with closed circuit televisions to watch for police raids while games are played inside. In 2010, Malaysian gaming group Berjaya (BGRO.KL) announced it was purchasing a 70% stake in Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd for 525 million ringgit. It was claimed Ascot had been issued a license to launch sports betting in Malaysia. Soon later there were protests and shortly after that the government denied any such license had ever existed.
This is all best explained as: in Malaysia we have many Muslims opposed to gambling. There are constant outcries and protests even over the legal forms of gambling we have already. It was said in a news article not too long ago that it seems every couple days the police are launching a new attack on Chinese gamblers. This explains it well from my perspective as daily something or another is being protested.
Online Gambling is Easier
The good news is it still possible to use overseas online gambling sites from the privacy of one’s own home without issue. For example www.bodog88.com is a post up betting site based in the Philippines that offers casino, sports betting, poker and Mahjong to Malaysia residents.
Players can deposit online or at the ATM using direct bank transfer. When they win, cash outs can be requested to the same method. The banks supported by Bodog Malaysia include Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB, RHB, Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Affin Bank, EON Bank, Alliance Bank Malaysia, AmBank, Citibank, OCBC Bank, HSBC Bank, and United Overseas Bank.
In a country where the next gambling protests seem always around the corner, using gambling located in the Philippines from one’s own home is stress free and a much welcomed change.
1 Next: Online Betting Laws for Malaysia
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, with 60% of its residents being of this particular religion, and Muslim countries often but not always have pretty strict views of gambling and see it as a sin in almost all circumstances.
So in these countries these religious beliefs often shape the law of the country, especially in the more religious countries that follow Islam. The unique thing about Malaysia though is that they have two sets of laws. One set applies to Muslims in the country, including tourists who are Muslim, and the other set applies to non Muslims. (1)
So we have the religious law and the secular law and there are two separate legal systems that function here, with even their own court systems, which is actually necessary because the secular courts based upon common law aren’t going to be experts on Islamic law.
So people in Malaysia become subject to one or the other sets of laws merely by virtue of their religion. Both prohibit gambling, but the secular law permits it when specifically authorized by law, and the Islamic based law just plain prohibits it and there are no exceptions.
The Islamic code of laws here is definitely broader in scope than the common law based system is, and there are all sorts of things that you can get thrown in jail for that normal laws do not prosecute, and basically people are confined to prison for not complying with religious tenants which govern a wide variety of prohibited behaviors, with gambling only being one of many so called vices that are included. (2)
These religious laws are enacted at the state level officially but they are very similar throughout Malaysia. Infractions will get you both fined and imprisoned and there may be lashings involved as well, although gambling does not involve any lashings.
Different Laws For Different Folks
The secular law on gambling has its own act, the Betting Act of 1953, which has been amended several times as gambling has become more liberalized in this country. (3) Bettors face up to 6 months in jail and operators risk being imprisoned for up to 5 years.
As far as which law applies, all ethnic Malays are required by law to be Sunni Muslims, so it is a distinction that can be made purely on one’s ethnic background, and it is not even a matter of renouncing one’s faith to be subject to the normal laws, as you can be thrown in jail for not practicing the Muslim faith if you are an ethnic Malay, as you are deemed by law to be Muslim.
To cater to the non Muslims and tourists, Malaysia does have a good amount of legal land based gambling, and offer pretty much everything other than sports gambling, which is prohibited. Rumors are that they came close to licensing sports betting a few years ago but the deal fell through at the last minute due to too much political opposition.
It’s not that land based gambling is rampant here by any means, and its growth is kept well in check by a vocal opposition, which is to be expected in a country that does not allow most of its people to partake in gambling at all. They are at least wise enough to realize that the significant part of the population that doesn’t follow the majority religion should not be subject to their religious laws.
There is a single land based casino here, the Resorts World Genting, and although this is in a secluded location in the mountains it is only about an hour’s drive away from Kuala Lampur, a world class city with a metropolitan area of 7.5 million people, and this facility is truly impressive, and the views alone are said to be worth the trip. (4)
Playing Poker in Malaysia
There are no legal land based poker rooms in Malaysia, and poker hasn’t historically been that popular of a game here, but this has improved lately, and more and more Malays are being turned on to poker, but this has happened during the internet era and therefore online poker is the only significant venue for it, but it has served the burgeoning poker market quite well indeed. (5)
Malaysia Gambling Laws
There is indeed an underground gambling market here which the police battle to control, and you may be able to find a live poker game within this scene if you know the right people, but most of this underground gambling is focused on sports betting and bookie operations, as this is the one type of gambling that the government of Malaysia doesn’t want at all, so there is a need that isn’t being satisfied. (6)
The casino does offer poker but it’s casino poker, pitting players against the house, which isn’t considered true poker by most. They would probably offer real poker tables if the demand was there but it doesn’t seem to be high enough for this as of yet. There’s nothing particular stopping this though other than live poker not being popular enough yet, as they do permit casino games generally, and live poker is considered a casino game.
The government doesn’t license online gambling like they do land based gambling, at least not as of yet, so players have to play their online poker at foreign based sites, which isn’t a problem to do. Malaysian banks are not allowed to permit payments to gambling sites though, so players have to use alternative means such as internet wallets to move money in and out of poker sites, which isn’t much of a problem either.
Malaysia is one of the countries where access to online poker has been restricted somewhat as of late, which some of the major poker sites have done, and in this case it’s likely that Malaysia is perceived as too much of a grey market.
It’s not that clear what goes into these decisions but there are a lot of Islamic countries on this list in addition to some countries where online poker isn’t real popular and Malaysia fits both, as there isn’t a lot of online poker players from here and losing sites like PokerStars in particular probably won’t do much to change things.
Fortunately though there are some poker sites that will accept Malay players so online poker lives on here, and who knows, maybe it will even catch on more in the coming years.
References:
1. The Gambling Laws in Malaysia
2. Syriah Criminal Offenses
Malaysia Illegal Gambling Law
3. Betting Act 1953
4. Resorts World Genting
5. Malaysian Online Poker
6. Malaysia Online Gambling Sites
Gambling Laws In Malaysia
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