Malaysia is one of the most exciting countries in the world to look at when it comes to gambling laws. Some of their population are permitted to gamble, and others aren’t. What is the defining factor? Ultimately, it comes down to religion. Whether you are going to be allowed to gamble or not may come down to your faith. To find out more, we need to take a closer look at the gambling laws of Malaysia, and while we are doing that, we might as well take a look at the best online casinos open to players in Malaysia.

An Overview of Gambling in Malaysia

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Malaysia

Malaysia does have gambling laws in place. The Common Gaming Houses Act and the Betting Act of 1953, coupled with the Lotteries Act of 1952, and the Pool Betting Act of 1967 form the basis for Malaysian gambling law. Officially, gambling is illegal in the country, although there are exceptions.

For instance, some land-based casinos have been permitted to operate in the Asian country, although they predominantly cater to tourists. Malaysians of the Muslim faith (the majority) are not allowed to gamble, in accordance with Sharia Law. However, Malaysian citizens who are not of the Muslim faith are allowed (within reason) to gamble. It should be stated that the Malaysian authorities still prefer them not to. The Ministry of Finances regulates all Malaysian gambling operations.

There are no online gambling laws in the country. However, given that gambling, in general, is off-limits for the vast majority of the population, we should read into it that online gambling is prohibited, too. Malaysia does actively try and block access to offshore casinos. It is these offshore casinos that we must turn to, to find the best online casinos in Malaysia.

Malaysia Gambling News Articles

Malaysia’s Most Played Casino Games

As gambling in Malaysia is legal to a degree, we have to ask – what do Malaysians like to play? Ultimately, the gambling laws in Malaysia make a handful of games legal and others not. Here then, is a rough breakdown of what you can expect to find when it comes to the most played games in the Asian country.

Casino Games: Land-based games are legal for tourists and non-Muslims in Malaysia. For the most part, these games consist of slots and casino table games. It should be noted that while land-based casino gaming is tolerated (to a very small degree), online casino games are not permitted, and that also applies to live dealer casino games.

Poker Games: Poker is a game which is popular in Malaysia, although you are not going to be able to find it outside of land-based, brick-and-mortar venues. Malaysia does not have any specific laws prohibited games of chance or games of skill, so provided you are allowed to gamble in Malaysia, you can play poker, too.

Lottery Games: Malaysia does run a lottery. Games are run by Da Ma Chai and The Magnum Corporation. These games are licensed under the current Malaysian gambling laws. However, it should be noted that online lotteries are not permitted. Malaysia also takes steps to block international lottery betting sites, too.

Bingo Games: Malaysia deems bingo to be the same as lottery games. In effect, they are illegal under Malaysian gambling law. In theory, Malaysian players can find ways around the gambling blocks and play bingo at foreign sites. The truth of the matter, though, is that bingo is just not that popular with players in Malaysia.

Sports Betting: Sports betting is immensely popular with players in Malaysia. Despite this, it, too, is deemed illegal. That said, the Ministry of Finance does issue gambling licenses for land-based sports betting operations, and these do have a large following amongst the population. As with other online gambling games, Malaysia tries to cut foreign operators out of the market.

Taxes on Big Wins at Malaysian Casinos

Taxes

Malaysia has rather costly taxes in relation to gambling. The Ministry of Finances raised the duties owned by casinos from 25% up to 35% in 2019. That revenue must be paid on whatever is made from Malaysian players. At the same time, Malaysian licenses for land-based operators were raised by RM30,000,000 to RM150,000,000. The decision to raise taxes by such a large amount has promoted many land-based gambling operators to consider their future in the Asian country.

Malaysians who are permitted to gamble will be taxed on their winnings, too. The so-called “Sin Tax” raises around RM4.5 billion per year from gamblers, which is over a third of the total amount of sin taxes collected by the country as a whole. Other sin taxes come from alcohol, tobacco and other products.

The Best Malaysian Online Casinos to Join Today

You are going to have to play at international casinos if you wish to bet from the comfort of your own home. On top of that, you are going to need a VPN (virtual private network) to access these foreign sites, as Malaysia implements a blanket ban on offshore casinos and betting sites. Here are a few things you need to note if you want to play at the best Malaysian online casinos today…

Know Your Rights: Before playing at any offshore casino, it is worth knowing your rights. While you will be breaking the law either way (if you play at international casinos), the punishments are often more severe for Muslim citizens, as they are also breaking Sharia Law, which does not apply to non-Muslim Malaysians.

VPN Access: You are going to need to get hold of a VPN (virtual private network) if you want to play at foreign sites and get around the blanket ban. However, not all offshore casinos accept players who use VPNs. With that in mind, you will need to find a top international casino which is prepared to accept players who use a VPN to mask their location. There are quite a few of these to choose from.
Malaysian-Friendly Options: Many international casinos accept Malaysian players. Because of the strict gambling laws in the country, it is not going to be easy to find banking methods which are user-friendly for gambling purposes. The best Malaysian casinos will offer alternative payment methods. Moreover, they will also offer gameplay in Malay, and allow players to use the Malaysian ringgit to deposit, wager and withdraw.

Safe Gameplay: There is no such thing as a Malaysian licensed online casino. However, there are plenty of other casinos which are licensed. If you do decide to play at a foreign casino, you should always play at one which not only accepts Malaysian players but one which is also licensed. In most cases, this will mean Curacao licensed casinos. However, there are Asian licensing jurisdictions (including a big one in the Philippines) which run sites that accept Malaysian players, too. These should all offer responsible gaming and provide secure privacy policies for Malaysians.

Playing online casino games in Malaysia is riskier for some than others. However, if you want to play games and gamble online, you have little choice but to play at international sites. Our page lists a fine selection of the safer internet casinos you can choose to play at if you happen to reside in Malaysia. These are all certified sites which are amongst the best online casinos for players in Malaysia.

Malaysia Online Gambling News

In Malaysia our gambling laws are quite interesting. Resorts World Genting is reachable in about one hour from our capital Kuala Lumpur by train. This is where Monte Carlo Casino, Hollywood Casino and StarWorld Casino are located. It is however illegal for 60% of our population to use these casinos – specifically Muslims. The same applies to other forms of gambling here too.

In this article I’ll explain the laws, what forms of gambling are legal, and how this differs for Muslim and non-Muslim. If you are interested in Online Betting from Malaysia there is a Part II article that you can read on the bottom of this page.

Betting Act 1953 and Exemptions

The primary law that regulates gambling in Malaysia is the Betting Act of 1953. This was amended in 1958, 1959, 1961, 1989, 1992 (twice), and 2006. The link provided is to the current copy which includes all amendments.

This Act is about 20 pages and is written in simple easy to understand English. While there are many laws and very little is left out, let me mention the primary law for players. Here the penalty for unlawful gambling is set at “a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.”. It also includes much stricter laws for those involved in operating, promoting or having any non-player involvement in gambling businesses.

There are however many forms of legal gambling under the Betting Act. It specifically states the penalties do not apply to approved and licensed gambling. As mentioned in the intro to this article, for that we have legal casinos that are available. We also have legal pari-mutuel horse race betting due to the Racing (Totalizator Board) Act 1961. Lottery is legal here too which originally government owned has been private since 1985. You can learn about that at www.sportstoto.com.my.

Sharia Law Applies to Mulsims

The legal forms of gambling mentioned above are mostly designed to target Chinese (about 1/3 our population), other minorities, and tourists. Under Malaysian law all ethnic-Malays are required to be Sunni Muslim. They are therefore subject to Islamic Law which makes gambling a serious crime. For those not familiar with this take a look at Penang’s Syriah Criminal Offences Enactment of 1996.

The above link is a decent scan for anyone not familiar with Malaysian Law. Here you will find penalties for enticing a female person, abuses of halal sign, preventing a married couple from cohabiting, and all sorts of items not typically found in Common Law. Section 18 sets the penalty for Muslims caught gambling at a fine up to 3000 ringgit, or 2-years imprisonment, or both.

The above is only an example from one of Malaysia’s 13-states. However, each and every state has similar laws. Each state also has an Islamic Religious Affairs Department, whom among other agencies, enforce Islamic Sharia law. Even Muslim tourists are subject to these laws. There have been recent cases of Indonesian and Pakistani men arrested while on holiday for visiting casinos that are legal to about 40% of the population.

Political Climate of Malaysia

This article might misrepresent Kuala Lumpur. This is actually a very friendly city to live. However there are some strange situations here. Since 2000, all video games have been banned in the country. Today there are internet cafés with closed circuit televisions to watch for police raids while games are played inside. In 2010, Malaysian gaming group Berjaya (BGRO.KL) announced it was purchasing a 70% stake in Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd for 525 million ringgit. It was claimed Ascot had been issued a license to launch sports betting in Malaysia. Soon later there were protests and shortly after that the government denied any such license had ever existed.

This is all best explained as: in Malaysia we have many Muslims opposed to gambling. There are constant outcries and protests even over the legal forms of gambling we have already. It was said in a news article not too long ago that it seems every couple days the police are launching a new attack on Chinese gamblers. This explains it well from my perspective as daily something or another is being protested.

Online Gambling is Easier

Malaysia Gambling News Today

The good news is it still possible to use overseas online gambling sites from the privacy of one’s own home without issue. For example www.bodog88.com is a post up betting site based in the Philippines that offers casino, sports betting, poker and Mahjong to Malaysia residents.

Players can deposit online or at the ATM using direct bank transfer. When they win, cash outs can be requested to the same method. The banks supported by Bodog Malaysia include Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB, RHB, Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Affin Bank, EON Bank, Alliance Bank Malaysia, AmBank, Citibank, OCBC Bank, HSBC Bank, and United Overseas Bank.

In a country where the next gambling protests seem always around the corner, using gambling located in the Philippines from one’s own home is stress free and a much welcomed change.

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