Gambling Cat and Mouse Chase in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur's Internet policy is liberal, by all means. A 1998 law, the Communications and Multimedia Act, assures free web access and no censorship.

With one exception; the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission may nevertheless block websites if they suspect they are harmful or may pose some abstract threat to social stability.

Quite naturally, this definition fits the cyber and multimedia crime fighters' view of online gambling.

And yet, online gambling, and online sports betting in particular, enjoys great popularity in Malaysia.

Whoever visited in Malaysia during any of the recent years' international football tournaments could notice many locals at Internet cafes, following the games and betting on the winners. As Euro 2008 begins in a month, this trend is expected to continue, and even grow. Total bets are expected to reach RM1 billion.

How do they manage?
Police can track suspects' banking transactions. Cyber-crime units can even trace IPs to internet cafes, and ban them altogether, thus forcing bettors to gamble from home, where they are easily detectable.

Even in the face of these and other methods, gambling is possible; some claim it is even simple.

Experts describe the various ways in which syndicates manage to avoid detection. One such way is having customers load their accounts before betting, thus loosening the tie between bank account movements and their betting habits.

Gambling on the web in Malaysia is not advertised, either. Instead, the operators and gamblers alike depend on word of mouth advertising.

Even firewalling certain URLs can be bypassed, simply by altering the site's name.

What to expect, then
Football summer within sight, you can bet on one thing: enforcement will step up.

A task force was formed recently, which will include various law enforcement institutions and share with international bodies, via Interpol. The cat and mouse chase continues.