Recently, the Malaysian Gaming Commission (MGC) has been asked to investigate the links between a major online gambling website and two high-profile murder cases in Malaysia. The first case involves the fatal shooting of a Chinese national in April this year. His loved ones were injured during the altercation. He had been gambling online when the dispute broke out. The second gambling issue that has brought the MGC into the spotlight is the arrest of an associate of Malaysian conglomerate Sinar Sabah, the owner of the largest online gambling website in the country. A member of the gambling industry in Malaysia, Sinar was arrested on suspicion of facilitating gambling activities on his site.
Like many other gambling issues in Malaysia, both incidents have caused tension between the government and private gambling operators here. The government has ordered an investigation into the links between Sinar and the two deaths. The Gaming Commission has also announced tough measures against all gambling operators in the country, including Sinar, within three months. Gaming is a huge industry in Malaysia, with revenue earning of more than $5 billion annually.
The two latest incidents highlight how vulnerable gambling enthusiasts are in Malaysia, particularly those from the ethnic Chinese community. A convert to Islam and a non-Muslim in his early days, Sinar may have fallen into disrepute in the eyes of many in the gaming industry over the years. He is said to be deeply involved in the online gambling industry in Malaysia.
With the closure of his gaming site, Sinar may have lost many customers as well as patrons who were not merely members of his patron’s club. The association of gambling issue in Malaysia with ethnicity and religion is a sensitive issue in a country where the two have strong roots. Many in the gambling industry speculate that Sinar may have been pressured into stepping down from his leadership position due to a perceived lack of support from within his own ethnic Chinese minority community and the wider gaming community itself. This would be another worrying sign for the future of the industry in Malaysia.
The Gaming Commission of Malaysia has promised to take action against Sinar, but they have not yet done so. There are reports in the local press that gambling issue has led to the closure of two gaming establishments. It is possible that these closures were due to government intervention; the closure of the gaming establishment may well have been ordered by the prime minister (or his secretary) as a part of a wider gambling control policy package. The government is keen to show that it is doing something to tackle the growing gambling issue in Malaysia.
Many in the gambling industry believe that the government is simply looking to use the issue to clamp down on gambling activity in the country. The closure of the Sinar Brothers gaming site may have been a move to appease the public and gain some quick media coverage before the next major gambling event which is the World Series of Poker (WSOP) begins. There is also a possibility that the closure was caused by lack of business and income from the site. If this is the case it is a worrying sign for the future of the multi-game industry in Malaysia. The implications of a sudden cessation of both the World Series of Poker and the WSOP Poker Tournament in Malaysia could wreak havoc on the multi-game industry.
For the time being the two gambling issues in Malaysia are being looked at by the authorities as the problems at two separate sites. It is believed that the closure of the Sinar Brothers site was caused by over-enthusiastic government promotion of the operation. Their failure to attract enough players to the tables at the clubhouse may have been due in part to their marketing budget. Some have speculated that gambling issue is behind the poor performance of the Malaysian Sports Council (MSC), the body which is charged with the responsibility of regulating all sporting competitions in the country. They have only been able to draft a few resolutions to increase transparency in government agencies and the regulation of sports activities in Malaysia.
A recent report by the banking regulators in Bank Malaysia, the BSB has also highlighted gambling issues in Malaysia. They pointed out that the government has not introduced any legislative framework to address the increasing problem. They recommended that gambling operators should consult with the gambling authority in the region. They also called for a review of the antigambling laws with a view to consider simplification of the law as they come into line with international standards. The regulators suggested that the introduction of a nationwide gambling supervisory board would be effective in the long run, but welcomed any effort to simplify the law so that there are fewer grey areas.
source https://trustedmalaysia.casino/gambling-issues-in-malaysia/
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