Malaysian police made 4,234 website blocking requests in relation to sites allegedly linked to online gambling, in a period from 2021 up to May 2025.
That is according to figures attributed to the Royal Malaysian Police, and reported on Tuesday by The Malaysian Reserve news outlet.
It said Malaysia’s primary laws relating to gambling were each enacted 72 years ago, well before the mass age of computing and of online gambling. They are the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 and the Betting Act 1953.
The police have submitted 12 proposed amendments to the country’s gambling laws, according to the report.
These include defining “remote gambling” and related digital terms, and imposing higher penalties – up to MYR100,000 (US$23,635) for players, and MYR1 million for operators.
The proposals would also see mandatory jail sentences of six months for players, and 12 months for operators, and the granting of blocking powers over websites and bank transactions to the office of the country’s deputy public prosecutor and to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
The proposals would also see electronic documents admissible in court, and the classifying of promotion of gambling platforms via remote communication as an offence.
The website blocking submissions for the period from 2021 up to May 2025 under Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 were to the Communications and Multimedia Commission.
The year 2023 saw a peak relative to prior years, with 1,922 requests for blocking – more than five times the number recorded in 2021, when there were 373, and 2022, when there were 305. In the first five months this year, there have been 449 bids to block sites, reported the news platform.
Malaysia’s only legal land-based casino is Resorts World Genting, run by Genting Malaysia Bhd. The nation also has licensed lottery business.
According to the news outlet’s report, last year the police force’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s work included 28 investigations involving social media influencers allegedly promoting gambling sites. The report said social media was an increasingly popular way of promoting illegal online gambling.
Those particular enquiries resulted in 27 arrests. Of the instances looked at, 18 generated cases that led to charges, while a further 10 instances were still under investigation.
Enforcement efforts under Operation Dadu, described as a nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling, led to 42,937 raids and 59,815 arrests between 2019 and May 2025, said the news outlet.
The peak year was 2022, with 8,195 raids and 11,737 arrests. The numbers declined last year.
