FIFA World Cup gambling on the go, technologies got smarter

KUALA LUMPUR: Illegal betting for this year’s World Cup is set to hit a record high – thanks to smart technology which will allow punters to place bets from anywhere and at anytime.

Federal Secret Societies, Gambling and Vice Division (D7) principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Roslee Chik said the total bets for the last World Cup in South Africa four years ago amounted to more than RM438mil nationwide.

“We expect this year’s tournament to surpass that amount as syndicates and gamblers are using smartphones rather than laptops.

“In the 2010 World Cup, we only had to deal with syndicates and gamblers using laptops but now smartphones have become the tool of the bookies,” he said.

Some of the gambling apps that are easily available are M88 Sports, IBCBET and SBOBET.

“We have started preparations in the last three weeks and we are ready to come down hard on anyone involved in illegal football betting,” SAC Roslee told a press conference in Bukit Aman yesterday.

Betting on football matches is illegal in Malaysia and even those who place bets on betting websites that are legal in other countries will face action.

Johor police have also set up a taskforce in every district to check on gambling activities and will focus on premises such as cybercafés and restaurants that offer live matches.

Johor police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff had these words of advice for those likely to get into bigger trouble by borrowing from loan sharks: “Just enjoy the games. There is no need to bet.”

Sabah police have set up eight teams for the Ops Soga 5 to combat football betting activities.

State CID chief Senior Asst Comm Omar Mammah said the police did not want to reveal details of their operations so they could catch the bookies and the gamblers by surprise.

According to SAC Roslee, although police arrested 143 people in 2010, including bookies and those who placed bets, most of them could not be prosecuted due to lack of evidence.

The youngest among those arrested was 15 and the oldest was 73. There were also 22 women and nine Indonesians.

He added that a total of 270 premises were raided nationwide during the month-long tournament and RM110,124 seized.

“We have learned some lessons and have improved our strategies.

“We will use the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Act 2001 (Amlata) and enforcement will be more stringent,” he said.

SAC Roslee said bets for the World Cup would increase as the tournament progressed, with the stake getting higher for the quarter-final, semi-final and the final.

It is learnt that a minimum bet could from between RM200 and RM300 and they could go up to hundreds of thousands of ringgit.

SAC Roslee vowed the police would use the Prevention of Crime Act to catch syndicate members as a last resort.

“We will also work closely with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission to identify illegal gaming facilities and websites,” he said.

SAC Roslee added they were also looking into amending existing gambling laws, to enable the authorities to have more bite against illegal gambling syndicates as syndicates are using the Internet with servers based overseas.

“It is hard to get cooperation from the authorities in countries where gambling is legal,” he said.

- Contributed by Farik zolkepli, Yuen Meikeng, Randeep Singh, Aida Ahmad, Stephanie Lee, & Farhaan Shah

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Football Every Day Webcast to keep up with the samba beat



PETALING JAYA: The greatest show on earth has kicked off and the Football Every Day Webcast will be keeping up with the samba beat on a daily basis throughout the tournament’s duration.

With seasoned faces as well as fresh ones, join football crazy fans Zack Yusof, Daryl Goh, Ian Yee, Brian Martin and Nelsen Ng as they get together to run the rule over each day’s matches.

This time around, viewers and footie fans alike stand a chance to walk away with a pair of the latest Adidas Battle Pack Footwear worth up to RM800 and dining vouchers from SOULed Out.

To win, simply send us your most wacky and creative photo or video selfies of you and your friends enjoying the World Cup.

Entries can be submitted by email to football@thestar.com.my or via Twitter at @switchup.tv. Make sure to include your full name, IC and contact numbers.

The Star’s Football Every Day webcast can be viewed at www.Switchup.tv.

Smartphones causing a spike in betting among youth

PETALING JAYA: Internet gambling has become more rampant among young people, especially since it has become so easy to bet using smartphones.

Those aged between 17 and 30 now make up 75% of online gamblers. The other 25% consists largely of those aged between 31 and 42.

Data from Gamblers Rehab Centre (GRC) Malaysia received between 2007 and last year show that the number of online gamblers who received counselling have increased from just 16 cases in 2007 to 112 last year.

“We received an average of 120 gamblers seeking help from us every year.

“Due to the popularity of smartphones, internet gambling has become more common,” said the GRC in a statement.

“There is no age minimum and it is open to everyone. The only qualification is the amount of money one has in the account,” it said.

The GRC said online gambling on credit was operated by illegal syndicates that set up their own websites and appointed agents to get clients to open trading accounts.

“They will give their clients credits to bet. This type of gambling is very popular, especially among school students,” it said.

Any losses or wins would be transacted via the account on a fixed day of the week.

“Since it does not require any cash deposit, it causes many to lose control and fall into the whirlpool of gambling.

“In order to win back lost money or to repay their debts, clients tend to borrow money from loan sharks, who in fact, are partners in the whole operation,” the GRC said.

However, there are a few types of online gambling games which do not involve money and are found on Facebook, said GRC, adding that such games might encourage some to move on to “real” online gambling.

The GRC has conducted awareness seminars in schools and other places to prevent people from picking up the habit.

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• Keeping tabs on children's activites to prevent them from developing a gambling habit
• Drawn to a crushing end
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• 'I hope my children will not pick up the habit'
• FIFA World Cup 2014
• GROs add to the allure of illegal gambling joints

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Helping Bettors Win Bitcoins! http://bitcoin-betting-guide.com/

Get rid of illegal casinos gambling now !

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested five men in a raid on an illegal gambling den in a private apartment at Geylang Road.

I REFER to “Bet illegal casinos can be weeded out” (see below). They should not be allowed to thrive. They are a nuisance and must go.

I hope the enforcement agencies work on this immediately. Stop giving excuses that this cannot be done.

Such nefarious ways and activities must be put to an end. Have the political will to do so and we will see to their demise.

What is also shocking is how illegal massage parlours, budget hotels, nightclubs, pubs, video arcades and other unhealthy businesses have cropped up of late?

Did the state governments give permission for them to operate? Whatever it is, please see to it that they stop functioning.

Their presence is bad. Trust me, nothing good comes from casinos and gambling.

Gambling is addictive and leads to compulsive gambling problems and unhealthy obsessions; it promotes crime, sin, stupidity, laziness, arrogance, greed, selfishness, entitlement and neglect of one’s family, among others.

BULBIR SINGH  Seremban

Bet illegal casinos can be weeded out

IT is known as the street that never sleeps. And for all the wrong reasons.

Because of the proliferation of gambling outlets, businesses along the same street, both legal and illegal, operate non-stop to cater to the demands of the gamblers.

In another part of the Klang Valley, one road is regarded as the hottest gambling spot in town, with 20 outlets along a single stretch.

The Star's investigation into the e-gambling dens in Klang, Selayang, Batu Caves, Kepong and Petaling Jaya reveal that these casinos in the streets thrive because the authorities turn a blind eye to what is going on under their jurisdictions.

Enforcement is lax even when these outlets in highly-popular zones are so easily identified.

We are not talking about illegal activities that operate in the boondocks, where their locations are tightly-kept secrets and you may need special passwords to gain access.

As our expose today on similar outlets in Penang reveals, we are talking about such illegal activities in two of the most developed states in the country.

The local authorities and enforcement agencies are certainly well-equipped to deal with situations like these.

The modus operandi seems simple enough. By day, they are typical business outlets, but by night they transform into bustling gambling dens.

The enforcers should be working round the clock to close them down.

The real action happens after dark, when not only gamblers head to these places, but also others seeking other services, like sex, to unwind after a hard day's work.

One law enforcement official claims that the operators of the illegal e-casinos play “hide-and-seek” with the authorities and often disappear before raids are conducted.

Meanwhile, the local authorities claim that they cannot do anything about the rising gambling menace either because the residents do not complain officially or that the other enforcement agencies are not doing their part.

While that may be the case, such scenarios are common and should not be used as an excuse not to take the necessary action.

The enforcement officials can station themselves in these areas.

The licensing authorities can shut down even the legitimate businesses in the daytime if they have evidence that they are being used for illegal activities at night.

Rather than blame one another over the lack of action, everyone can, and should, work as a team to ensure that our streets come alive, in the day or at night, for only the right reasons.

Otherwise, casinos in the streets will simply spawn crime in the streets.

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Cyber crooks target gamers; E-gambling dens menace, raid in Penang ... Cyber crooks target gamers; E-gambling dens menace, raid in Penang, etc

Video games turned casinos gambling in Penang

Huge gambling slot machines draw punters to illegal centres

Not so innocent after all: One of the video games arcades that offer gambling slot machines in Sungai Nibong.

GEORGE TOWN: Some video games arcades in Penang are doubling as mini casinos where punters can try their luck on huge gambling slot machines.

One, in Bandar Baru Air Itam here, looks just like any other video games arcade as children, women and the elderly can be seen having a fun time inside the premises.

But it turns out that the main draw at the place are the huge slot machines which can be played by six punters at a time.

For RM10, a punter is given 20 tokens worth 100 credits to gamble with.

At one machine, punters earn credits if they are able to hit targets.

A check revealed that several video games arcades and amusement centres here as well as in Sungai Nibong, Macalister Road and Bandar Baru Air Itam have such slot machines apart from the usual video games for children.

Some even have snooker tables and indoor golf simulation games to make them one-stop entertainment outlets.

These premises are equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and some have tontos (lookouts) stationed outside to sound the alarm if there are enforcement authorities.

Some of the premises are located in secluded shoplots and have tinted windows to avoid detection. There are also operators who only admit regular customers.

Many punters even bring along their spouse and children. While they gamble, their spouse and children play the usual video games.

A punter, who declined to be named, said winning about RM30 a day was enough to pay for three meals.

“But you must know the timing, technique and tactic to win lah,” he said.

Penang police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said they had “zero tolerance” against the operators of such illegal centres.

He urged those with information to contact the police hotline at 04-2691999.

“Please, furnish us with details of the premises that offer such activities. We will immediately launch a crackdown,” he said. “I won't allow gambling activities in Penang as it will surely cause social problems.”

Penang municipal councillor Iszuree Ibrahim believed that video game arcades could have abused their licences to run such outlets.

“We will not hesitate to revoke their licences and take stern action against them,” he said, adding that the licences had to be renewed quarterly. - The Star

The rise of risky Internet casinos gambling among youths

Betting among youths more popular with rise of Internet casinos

PETALING JAYA: Gamblers are getting younger and increasingly using the Internet to try their luck in hopes of striking it big.

Besides gambling in online casinos, there are also bookies as young as 13, who take bets in school on football matches.

Gamblers Rehab Centre Malaysia president David Chiang said young punters were a worrying trend, with some already becoming habitual gamblers at 15.

“Youths usually gamble over the Internet because it is not regulated. They will obviously get stopped at casinos because of their age. So they turn to online casinos instead,” he said.

Chiang said youths could also deceive their parents into believing they were conducting research over the Internet when they were actually gambling online.

Addictive vice: Two boys visiting an online casino website. Teenage gambling is becoming more rampant with easy access to Internet casinos and young bookies taking bets in schools.

 

“Parents will easily believe them because the Internet is such a huge part of the lifestyle of youths today,” he said,

Chiang said young people were able to gamble in online casinos because they could borrow credit from online brokers, who offered their services on the websites.

“If the teenage gambler loses the credit, the broker would then pay the online casino first with a credit card. The teenager has to repay the broker in cash,” he said, adding that besides betting on games like roulette and poker, young gamblers were also fond of sports betting, especially football.

“The youngest habitual gambler I know is a 15-year-old. Habitual gamblers are actually addicted to gambling but they are not aware of it,” he said.

Chiang said that while the problem of teenage gambling was widespread across the nation, another alarming trend was schoolchildren borrowing money from loan sharks to pay their gambling debts.

“Some Ah Long know the teenagers' parents are rich enough to pay off the debts so they have no qualms about encouraging them to take loans,” Chiang said.

He said young people resorted to gambling because many of them wanted a quick way to get money to buy better handphones, computers and branded goods.

The centre expects a surge in calls to its hotline at the end of Euro 2012, mostly from gamblers who have lost their bets.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said he had received six cases of gambling problems involving those aged between 16 and 18, amounting to RM200,000 so far this year.

“This is considered an increase because last year I received fewer than 10 cases. I've already got six and it is only June,” he said.

Chong said he believed the cases highlighted were only the tip of the iceberg, adding that the youths he met were already in serious trouble and needed to seek his help.

“There are many out there who choose not to seek help,” he said.

About 80% of gambling cases involve the Chinese, with the other races making up the remaining 20%, he added.

By YUEN MEIKENG meikeng@thestar.com.my 

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Cyber crooks target gamers; E-gambling dens menace, raid in Penang, etc

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Cyber crooks target gamers

By P. ARUNA  aruna@thestar.com.my

SERI KEMBANGAN: Cyber crooks have now set up fake gaming sites to steal information from Internet surfers.

They are also stealing personal information from online gamers and selling virtual gaming items like weapons to other players.

Cybersecurity Malaysia, which is an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, said cyber criminals were targeting gaming websites and had spread their wings to Malaysia, with five cases reported so far.

“Gaming websites have already become a lucrative business for cyber criminals in South Korea and China,” said Cybersecurity Malaysia vice-president (cyber security responsive services) Adli Abd Wahid.

“Gamers are spending more money on online gaming, purchasing battle tanks', avatars' and other virtual gadgets and tools needed to advance to higher levels of a certain online game.

“Cyber crooks can steal the usernames and passwords of users who have advanced to a certain level in a game, and sell the account to buyers who want to continue playing the game from that level.”

Adli said that since many gamers preferred not to waste time starting from the lowest levels, they were willing to buy from cyber crooks.

The crooks could also steal the virtual weapons and gadgets from compromised accounts and sell them to other players.

Adli estimated that 99% of phishing websites targeting Malaysians were created and operated overseas, with foreign syndicates often hiring locals as “money mules” to transfer stolen money to foreign bank accounts.

The number of phishing sites detected in Malaysia rose from 634 cases in 2009 to 1,426 reports that were lodged last year.

IDC Market Research (M) Sdn Bhd associate analyst Devtar Singh said there were currently an estimated 7.3 million online gamers in Malaysia.

International anti-phishing service provider Internet Identity (IID) reported that the attacks were expected to rise with the global online gaming industry generating over US$15bil (RM44bil) annually, making it a strong target for criminals.

Residents: End the game for e-gambling dens

By ELAN PERUMAL and STUART MICHAEL  newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Action must be taken against operators of e-gambling dens because addiction to gambling is making families suffer, said Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Heng Seai Kie.

Her ministry had received numerous complaints from women, especially mothers and wives, on the negative impact caused by such gambling dens.

They complained how family members had became addicted to gambling due to the existence of these premises near their homes.

Heng said the mothers complained that their children’s studies were badly affected by the addiction to gambling.

“The wives also told us that their husbands frequent such premises and lose their earnings at the cyber casinos,” she said.

Heng said she had received feedback that the number of illegal casinos were mushrooming in the Klang Valley, especially Selangor.

She urged the state government to act against this illegal activity.

Meanwhile, resident associations (RA) called for sterner action against the cyber casinos.

Aman Suria RA pro-tem chairman Wendy Chan said the lack of consistency among the local authorities had led to the mushrooming of the illegal cyber casinos.

While acknowledging the authorities did take action against the illegal e-gambling dens, Chan said their actions were not effective.

“The best way is for the local authorities to closely monitor and carry out regular checks.’’

Damansara Jaya RA president Datuk Hew Cheng Hoe said it was impossible for the residents associations to act on the complaints against the illegal activity.

“I believe the authorities will do the necessary to stop the illegal operators,’’ he said.

Bandar Country Homes RA president Soong Beng Khoon said the authorities should also go after those who supplied equipment to these illegal gambling centres.

He added that these casinos were popular as they were strategically located in residential areas.

Taman Rawang Perdana 2 RA chairman Ong Siew Hong said there were many cybercafes in his area and some youngsters, who initially played for fun, eventually become addicted.

“This has become a social problem and the authorities must view it seriously.”

 E-gambling menace

Stories by M.KUMAR and AUSTIN CAMOENS

Under control: A police officer securing the area during a raid on gambling dens in Gombak, Selangor.

KUALA LUMPUR: Many people, including schoolchildren, are losing millions of ringgit monthly at e-gambling dens.

The cyber casinos attract customers by offering a variety of gambling games from mahjong and roulette to virtual slot machines.

The premises are sparsely furnished. Rows of computers line the space and customers are seen glued to the screens.

Bets start from as low as 25sen to as high as the participant wants. There have been cases where players bet thousands of ringgit for one hand of Blackjack.

EO for cyber crooks

PETALING JAYA: The Emergency Ordinance (EO) will be used against operators of illegal cyber casinos who have been raking in millions of ringgit monthly.

The police, however, face a setback because the gaming servers are located overseas, making it difficult to nab the culprits.

Other developments:

> The Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Cybercafe Owners Association has come up with an integrated approach to rebrand the industry and educate members;

> Selangor Government slammed over inaction against such operators; and

> Habitual gamblers say they are attracted by the low bets offered.

13 held in Penang after cyber raid

By TAN SIN CHOW sctan@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Police have detained 13 caretakers and workers of cybercafes which are believed to be fronts for illegal online gambling.

During an operation code-named Ops Dadu, the police also seized 128 computer sets from 13 cybercafes throughout the state.

State CID chief Senior Asst Comm (SAC) Zahruddin Abdullah said the 13, mostly caretakers in their 20s and 30s, were nabbed during a five-hour operation which ended at 1am.

Gambling gadgets: George Town CID chief Deputy Supt Shahurinain Jais showing some of the seized items at Datuk Keramat police station in Penang Thursday. Aug 4, 2011

 

Most such premises were found in central Seberang Prai and George Town districts.

SAC Zahruddin said police had intensified their raids on online gambling dens with 4,440 computers and gambling machines seized in the first six months of this year.

He added that 1,150 raids were also carried out with 440 arrests made.

“The statistics show the number of raids, arrests and seizures have increased tremendously compared with last year and 2009.

“Constant raids have been carried out but the problems still persist. We will continue with our efforts,” he said during a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday.

Police made 759 and 434 arrests in 2009 and last year respectively.

They had carried out 1,045 raids in 2009 and 1,339 last year.

SAC Zahruddin said there were hundreds of cyber cafes in Penang with a large number being run without licences from local authorities.

He added that many operators were also caught abusing licences obtained from local authorities by running online gambling in their premises.

“We have problems tracking down the masterminds as most of the time those who look after the premises are foreigners.

“The operators have hi-tech tools. With only the press of a button, computers in the premises will be switched off.

“This makes it even harder for us to establish a case against them.”

When contacted, Penang municipal councillor Iszuree Ibrahim said cybercafe operators who run online gambling activities had never applied for licences from the Penang Municipal Council.

He said only 17 out of hundreds of cybercafe operators on the island were given licences.

“We are only able to issue summonses to the perpetrators but this will not deter them from carrying out such activities at their premises as they are raking in millions of ringgit annually.”

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