Malaysian online sports betting bust

News on 26 Jun 2014

Police in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia report the dismantling of yet another online sports betting ring which has been capitalising on World Cup football fever to the tune of Malaysian Ringgit 7.5 million (US$2.33 million) a day.

The four men operating the ring were arrested in a raid in the capital Wednesday afternoon, CID Deputy Director Datuk Mazlan Mansor revealed, adding that the raids were mounted following intelligence gathering over the past month triggered by a tip-off

He said police seized three laptops, two iPads, two broadband modems and 30 log books containing recordings of football bets.

“They were detained to assist investigations under Section 6 (3) of the Betting Act 1953 as they were believed to be gambling syndicate agents,” he told reporters, noting that initial investigations suggested over 1,500 clients with generous credit limits were active.

DCI Mazlan also revealed that in a separate investigation on the evening of the same day, a police raiding party seized 12 computer servers which police suspect were supporting an illegal sports betting website with associates throughout the Asia Pacific region.

“This is the first time we seized the servers used for gambling. We are still investigating the website,” he said.

Since current Ops Soga V – the police code for anti-gambling operations – began on June 12, 194 individuals have been detained nationwide for their involvement in illegal football betting.

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