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KUALA LUMPUR: Describing it as the “biggest obstacle” for his ministry, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail says there is an element of political patronage in online gambling activities in Malaysia.

“To say that online gambling in Malaysia is free from political patronage, people will laugh at it. So yes, there is indeed an element of political patronage.

“From there comes influence and protection, from there comes corruption and bribery (and) the lack of political will to fight this matter all the way.

“The players (gambling syndicates) are protected and (will) return the favour to their political masters who protect them so that no action will be taken,” he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Ramanan Ramakrishnan (PH-Sungai Buloh) in the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

He added that this political patronage was the biggest obstacle for the ministry, the police and the government as a whole in their efforts to address the issue.

Saifuddin Nasution said the relevant laws need to be amended – such as the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 and the Betting Act 1953 – to cover offences related to illegal online gaming platforms.

“It is now 2023 and the 1953 laws have never been amended,” he said, adding there had been efforts to make amendments to the Acts in 2019 but it was slow moving and thus unsuccessful.

Saifuddin Nasution said he will discuss the matter with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as both laws are under the purview of the Finance Ministry.

He said amending the 70-year-old laws to cover online gambling will show that the authorities are determined to combat the menace.

“In 1953, gambling or betting only involved cockfighting, but now when the police want to take action, the authorities would lose the case.

“We are still using the same Acts.

“If the police take action and they (gamblers) challenge it in court, they will win (because) online gambling is not included in these two Acts.

“The highest penalty under the Act is RM50,000.

“This (penalty) is incompatible against the multibillion-ringgit online gambling industry,” he added.

Saifuddin Nasution also said the authorities have blocked around 2,119 online gambling websites from 2021 until May 2023, only for mirror sites to pop up to replace them.