{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T17:46:46Z","timestamp":1772041606937,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Universiti Putra Malaysia","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JSSH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gambling is a serious issue that comes with wide-reaching social, political, and economic consequences if not tightly monitored by governmental authorities. The advent of technology has provided gambling operators a virtual platform that caters to gamblers over the internet. Malaysian legislation that deals with gambling was drafted before online gambling came about. Malaysia has yet to introduce any amendment to existing legislation to better equip it with sufficiently clear wording and provisions for the purpose of regulating online gambling. The aims of this article are to (1) examine the prevalence of online gambling in Malaysia today and (2) analyze the application of existing legislation to regulate online gambling. In this article, the above aims are analysed from a legal perspective based on a qualitative doctrinal research method involving journal articles, relevant news articles, and Malaysian legislation. The finding of this article establishes that unregulated online gambling is growing into a pressing issue in Malaysia and relevant local legislation needs to be updated to better deal with its challenges. This article is not meant to be an all-encompassing thesis but to serve as an introductory guide into this niche area of the law.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.47836\/pjssh.29.1.12","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]],"date-time":"2021-03-26T09:02:16Z","timestamp":1616749336000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Online Gambling in Malaysia: A Legal Analysis"],"prefix":"10.47836","volume":"29","author":[{"given":"Guru","family":"Dhillon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lee Sook","family":"Ling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jason Tze-Xi","family":"Nathan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maran","family":"Nandan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"27687","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Andrews, C. (1909). The importance of the enforcement of law. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 34(1), 85-89. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/000271620903400111","DOI":"10.1177\/000271620903400111"},{"key":"ref1","unstructured":"Bernama. (2016, July 15). Stop online gambling or face action under Poca, say police. Free Malaysia Today. https:\/\/www.freemalaysiatoday.com\/category\/nation\/2016\/07\/15\/stop-online-gambling-or-face-action-under-poca-say-police\/"},{"key":"ref2","unstructured":"Bernama. (2017, February 14). Law to be amended to tackle online gambling. Free Malaysia Today. https:\/\/www.freemalaysiatoday.com\/category\/nation\/2017\/02\/14\/law-to-be-amended-to-tackle-online-gambling\/"},{"key":"ref3","unstructured":"Bernama. (2018, July 6). 25 online gaming suspects held under Poca this year. Free Malaysia Today. https:\/\/www.freemalaysiatoday.com\/category\/nation\/2018\/07\/06\/25-online-gaming-suspects-held-under-poca-this-year\/"},{"key":"ref4","unstructured":"Bernama. (2019, June 24). 14,759 nabbed since Jan in nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling. New Straits Times. https:\/\/www.nst.com.my\/news\/crime-courts\/2019\/06\/498873\/14759-nabbed-jan-nationwide-crackdown-illegal-gambling"},{"key":"ref5","unstructured":"Bernama. (2020, April 22). Police cripple RM135,000-a-day online gambling syndicate. Malay Mail. https:\/\/www.malaymail.com\/news\/malaysia\/2020\/04\/22\/police-cripple-rm135000-a-day-online-gambling-syndicate\/1859339"},{"key":"ref6","unstructured":"Berthelsen, J. (2013, May 1). Threat to Malaysia\u2019s gaming tables? Asian Sentinel. http:\/\/www.asiasentinel.com\/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5378&Itemid=229"},{"key":"ref7","unstructured":"Betting Act (1953) (Act 495)."},{"key":"ref8","unstructured":"Camoens, A. (2020, October 2). Office of gambling software developer raided, 40 arrested. The Star. https:\/\/www.thestar.com.my\/news\/nation\/2020\/10\/02\/office-of-gambling-software-developer-raided-40-arrested."},{"key":"ref9","unstructured":"Chew, A. (2019, November 21). 680 Chinese held in Malaysia over online scam targeting WeChat Pay users. South China Morning Post. https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/week-asia\/economics\/article\/3038808\/680-chinese-held-malaysia-over-online-scam-targeting-wechat-pay"},{"key":"ref10","unstructured":"Common Gaming Houses Act (1953) (Act 289)."},{"key":"ref11","unstructured":"Communications and Multimedia Act (1998) (Act 588)."},{"key":"ref12","unstructured":"Contracts Act (1950) (Act 136)."},{"key":"ref13","unstructured":"Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2010). Population distribution and basic demographic characteristic report 2010. https:\/\/www.dosm.gov.my\/v1\/index.php?r=column\/ctheme&menu_id=L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09&bul_id=MDMxdHZjWTk1SjFzTzNkRXYzcVZjdz09"},{"key":"ref14","unstructured":"Dewan Rakyat. (2019). November 12 debate (Bil. 50). https:\/\/www.parlimen.gov.my\/files\/hindex\/pdf\/KKDR-12112019.pdf"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Dhillon, G., & Miin, N. Y. (2013). The regulations and control of online betting in Malaysia. UUM Journal Of Legal Studies, 4, 79-97.","DOI":"10.32890\/uumjls.4.2013.4573"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Duncan, A. M. (2015). Gambling with the myth of the American Dream. Routledge.","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315718262"},{"key":"ref17","unstructured":"Juniper Research. (2016, September 16). Global online gambling wagers to approach $1 trillion by 2021. CDC Gaming Reports Inc. https:\/\/www.cdcgamingreports.com\/global-online-gambling-wagers-to-approach-1-trillion-by-2021\/"},{"key":"ref18","unstructured":"Goh, J. (2017, January 27). Mobile tech a game changer for NFOs. The Edge Markets. https:\/\/www.theedgemarkets.com\/article\/mobile-tech-game-changer-nfos"},{"key":"ref19","unstructured":"Illegal gambling operations go hi-tech. (2018, July 6). The Sun Daily. https:\/\/www.thesundaily.my\/archive\/illegal-gambling-operations-go-hi-tech-IUARCH562169"},{"key":"ref20","unstructured":"Ishak, S., & Bani, Y. (2017). Determinants of crime in Malaysia: Evidence from developed states. International Journal of Economics and Management, 11(3), 607-622."},{"key":"ref21","unstructured":"Kaur, M. (2019, July 9). Govt to update laws on gambling to include online activities. Free Malaysia Today. https:\/\/www.freemalaysiatoday.com\/category\/nation\/2019\/07\/09\/govt-to-update-laws-on-gambling-to-include-online-activities\/"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Loo, J. M. Y., & Phua, K. L. (2016). Gambling participation and policies in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Gambling Issues and Public Health 6, 3. https:\/\/doi: 10.1186\/s40405-016-0012-1","DOI":"10.1186\/s40405-016-0012-1"},{"key":"ref23","unstructured":"Lotteries Act (1952) (Act 288)."},{"key":"ref24","unstructured":"Noor, M. H. M. (2019, December 11). 5,800 nombor telefon ditamatkan [5,800 phone numbers terminated]. Harian Metro. https:\/\/www.hmetro.com.my\/mutakhir\/2019\/12\/525704\/5800-nombor-telefon-ditamatkan"},{"key":"ref25","unstructured":"Pool Betting Act (1967) (Act 809)."},{"key":"ref26","unstructured":"Prevention of Crime Act (1959) (Act 297)."},{"key":"ref27","unstructured":"Property owners who rent their premises to gambling syndicates subject to Poca. (2020, February 3). The Sun Daily. https:\/\/www.thesundaily.my\/local\/property-owners-who-rent-their-premises-to-gambling-syndicates-subject-to-poca-AM1961121"},{"key":"ref28","unstructured":"Racing Club (Public Sweepstakes) Act (1965) (Act 404)."},{"key":"ref29","unstructured":"Ramendran, C. (2019, June 24). Cops continue war on illegal gambling, 14,759 arrested since January (Updated). The Sun Daily. https:\/\/www.thesundaily.my\/local\/cops-continue-war-on-illegal-gambling-14-759-arrested-since-january-updated-LH1018827"},{"key":"ref30","unstructured":"Tan, B. (2020, January 10). Johor cops cripple online gambling syndicate operated by Chinese nationals. Malay Mail. https:\/\/www.malaymail.com\/news\/malaysia\/2020\/01\/10\/johor-cops-cripple-online-gambling-syndicate-operated-by-chinese-nationals\/1826655"},{"key":"ref31","unstructured":"Zack, J. (2020, Oct 30). Online gambling suspects, among them software experts, to be charged under Poca. The Star. https:\/\/www.thestar.com.my\/news\/nation\/2020\/10\/30\/online-gambling-suspects-among-them-software-experts-to-be-charged-under-poca."},{"key":"ref32","unstructured":"Zakaria, N. H., Kunhibava, S., Karim, M. E., Munir, A. B., & Kok, R. (2018). Malaysian blockchain regulatory report. University of Malaya Malaysian Centre of Regulatory Studies. https:\/\/law.um.edu.my\/Research-UMCORS\/RegTech\/UM%20-%20Malaysian%20Blockchain%20Regulatory%20Research%20Report.pdf"}],"container-title":["Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]],"date-time":"2021-03-26T09:05:22Z","timestamp":1616749522000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.pertanika.upm.edu.my\/pjssh\/browse\/regular-issue?article=JSSH-7170-2020"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]]},"references-count":33,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.47836\/pjssh.29.1.12","relation":{},"ISSN":["2231-8534"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2231-8534","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,26]]}}}