Malaysia Attempts Compromise While China Blocks Online Gambling

June 26, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

0 Comments

While Malaysian lawmakers are trying to find a way to compromise when it comes to online gambling, the Chinese government has blocked over 1,400 overseas online gambling websites.

In Malaysia, the Information, Communication and Culture Minister is of the opinion that in order to counter illegal gambling, the best thing that can be done is to legalize gambling. He feels that controlling gambling is better than making it illegal, and that a proper structure should be set up to license the industry.

Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, according to the Business Times, has put forward a proposal in which the government would set up a commission which monitors and controls licensed gambling in Malaysia. He explained that the commission that would specially be set up for this reason, would be able to assist the Malaysian government in the regulation of gambling and to help reduce the illegal gambling activities that do take place. At this time, around RM10 billion a year is being wagered on illegal online gambling sites.

In Malaysia, the issue of licensing gambling has recently come to the fore after discussions were held considering the possibility of legalizing and licensing gambling. The main anti-gambling groups that have opposed the idea have come from religious Muslim groups that oppose gambling based on their religious beliefs.

The Minister said: “It should be regulated... it should not be the subject of discrimination. We need to be objective and identify the social rights of non-Muslims (to gamble) in the country.”

While speaking to a delegation of journalists from the Indonesian Journalists Association, he also commented “If the gaming license can be implemented correctly according to certain rules, we will be able to curb illegal gambling.”

The Chinese government has already banned a large number of online gambling sites, as well as other websites that they do not wish their citizens to have access to. There was recently an announcement that even more online gambling sites have been blocked on orders that come directly from the government.

The Beijing Times newspaper has reported that the Ministry of Public Security informed them that in the past week, there were 1,461 online gambling websites that were blocked. The sites that were blocked originate from outside of China.

A Public Security spokesman said “Rampant illegal gambling still lingers in many areas of the country, especially since the opening of the 2010 World Cup, adding to the public's concerns.”