Malaysian city cuts off the power to 470 online gambling businesses in crackdown

More than 450 online gambling establishments in the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru have had their electricity supplies cut off as local police crack down on gambling crimes and unlicensed premises in the area.

Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar said, “This operation was launched to focus on halting online gambling, unlicensed public lotteries, and other gambling activities. The operation was a joint effort between the police, local councils, and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB),”

“This reflects the authorities’ ongoing commitment to ensure that gambling crimes can be eradicated for the community’s well-being,” he continued, “Authorities also seized equipment from seven premises in Muar and one in Tangkak. The licences of eight premises were also revoked during this operation.”

The latest phase of the operation saw electricity supplies cut at 86 new premises and involved the use of 64 police officers, 48 Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) personnel, and seven PBT officials according to a report in the Malaysian Sun

While gambling on horse racing and lotteries is legal in Malaysia, there are strict bans in force preventing sports betting and online gambling. Following this latest operation, the police have submitted a request to the MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) to curb future access to the illicit websites that were targeted.

Kumar made a point of confirming that the authorities would not tolerate online gambling in any form and would carry out further operations to prevent the issue from continuing to spread. “The police have never compromised when it comes to tackling gambling-related offences. We consistently monitor and inspect premises suspected of being involved in gambling, and operations will continue”

The Johor districts that were affected contained the following number of gambling premises.

• Iskandar Puteri (19)
• Johor Bahru Selatan (14)
• Kota Tinggi (11)
• Johor Bahru Utara (10)
• Muar (7)
• Batu Pahat (6)
• Pontian (5)
• Kluang and Kulai (4)
• Segamat (3)
• Mersing (2)
• Tangkak (1)

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