Gaming & Wagering Laws in Malaysia

Gaming and wagering is a strictly regulated activity in Malaysia. The Malaysian Contracts Act reflects this position by providing that all gaming and wagering contracts are void.

However, gaming and wagering is permitted by licensing or exemption. There is a plethora of statutes that regulate gaming and wagering activities in Malaysia:-

• Pool Betting Act
• Betting Act
• Lotteries Act
• Common Gaming Houses Act
• Racing (Totalisator Board) Act
• Racing Clubs (Public Sweepstakes) Act

Specialised gaming and wagering revenue collection statutes are:-

• Gaming Tax Act
• Betting and Sweepstakes Duties Act
• (Pool betting duty collection is provided in the Pool Betting Act)
• (Lottery duty collection is provided in the Lotteries Act)

Repealed statutes on gaming and wagering include:-

• Social Welfare Lotteries Act
• Gaming Ordinance of Sabah (Cap.50)
• Gambling Ordinance of Sarawak (Cap.138)

Corporations or clubs in Malaysia that are licensed to conduct forms of gaming and wagering include the following:-

• Tanjong plc (its subsidiary Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd)
• Pan Malaysian Sweeps Sdn Bhd
• Selangor Turf Club
• Perak Turf Club
• Penang Turf Club
• Sports Toto Malaysia Bhd
• Magnum 4D Bhd
• Sandakan Turf Club
• Everise Ventures Sdn Bhd
• Royal Sabah Turf Club
• Keningau Turf Club
• Sarawak Turf Club
• Natural Avenue Sdn Bhd
• Lotteries Corporation (88) Sdn Bhd

Apart from licensing and regulatory matters and corporate matters, substantive management and operational matters that are relevant include:-

• Game branding
• Game design
• Prize payout structure
• Retail outlet design
• Rules & regulations of games
• On-line computer vendor identification & negotiations
• Gaming software contract negotiations
• Training modules for staff
• Result-drawing machine vendor identification
• Drawing procedures

Dear Visitor,

You are welcome to contact me, CT Choo at my email c_t_choo@yahoo.com if you have any questions regarding the information above or, any related matters. I will try to answer your queries.

CT Choo