Four-digit gambling crackdown starts in Malaysia

Malaysian police have initiated a massive hunt for tracking down the operators of illegal four-digit gaming outlets, with raids in 15 outlets simultaneously. It is believed that kingpins of these operations are working from foreign countries like Thailand and Cambodia.

A 50-member strong police team is involved in the operation.

The cops arrested 26 people including 24 workers of the gaming outlets and two customers, who were in the midst of buying numbers from the gaming operators, who have connections with their counterparts in Thailand and Cambodia.

Comm Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa, Assistant Director of Federal Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret Society Department, said in the past, such outlets operated in a mobile fashion, but now they are static and they used hi-tech online technology to participate in number draws at Thailand and Cambodia – both of which are illegal in Malaysia.

He told a press conference that the raids began around 3 pm Sunday and RM28,000 was also seised from the cash registers of the operators.

Some of the outlets operated discreetly by using retail outlets selling smartphone accessories to bags and watches as fronts.

Rohaimi said that Penang was the first state and eventually, the D7 unit from Bukit Aman will inspect all locations throughout the country.

In Malaysia, the four-digit number operators’ usually only offer three days in a week draws with exceptions of special draw arrangements.

But the illegal operators offer daily draws with links to the syndicates in Cambodia and Thailand – while for the latter, the punters can place bets twice daily; one at 9 am and another at 3 pm, Rohaimi disclosed.

The daily collections can amount up to RM10, 000 for such operations.

“It is a lucrative business but it is illegal and it encourages around the clock gambling urges. We need to clamp down on such illicit activities.”

Hence, Rohaimi warned operators in other states to stop their activities or face the consequences when Bukit Aman’s D7 division launches more raids soon.

Source: thesundaily.my