S’wak police teams up with MCMC, Sarawak Digital to combat rise in online gambling
by Aileen Yap · Borneo Post OnlineKUCHING (Nov 27): The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) is shifting its enforcement strategy from physical raids to disrupting operations at the system level in response to a surge in online gambling fueled by technological advances.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohammad Zainal Abdullah explained that the rise of digital platforms has fundamentally transformed the landscape of illegal gambling, necessitating a new approach from law enforcement.
“It’s not a question of ‘why now’, but because online gambling didn’t exist previously,” he said after the flag-off ceremony for personnel assisting with the 17th Sabah state election, at the Sarawak Police Contingent Headquarters here.
“Now it does, and it uses systems, a system that maybe we can interrupt, disrupt or block it. In the past, everything was manual and in-person, making it much harder to cut off.”
He noted that the shift to remote operations, where gamblers can simply buy top-ups or place bets from their phones, has rendered conventional enforcement methods less effective.
Addressing claims that some gambling shops have been left untouched, he clarified that many outlets no longer host actual betting.
“But the problem now is that most cases I see involve only buying top-ups. They don’t gamble there and if they gamble on the premises, we can raid.
“It’s not like before, when shops were filled with people gambling. If such shops still exist now, I will go. The issue now is they only buy top-ups, which can be done from a phone,” he elaborated.
To strengthen this new front, PDRM is collaborating closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Sarawak Digital to identify and block online gambling channels.
Zainal also drew a clear line between licensed and illegal gambling.
“Some gambling in Malaysia is licensed, some is not. The licensed ones continue because they are regulated.
“What we want to block are the unlicensed ones — the ones harming society,” he said, highlighting the financial ruin, job loss, and social risks.
“There is no benefit as it can lead to job dismissal, debt, and involvement in other crimes,” he stressed.
Earlier, the commissioner oversaw the departure of 903 Sarawak police personnel to assist with the Sabah polls.
With an additional 128 officers already on the ground, the total deployment stands at 1,031.
He added that these personnel had undergone adequate in-service training to ensure smooth handling of security control tasks during the election period.
“We pray the Sabah election proceeds smoothly and that our team returns safely to their normal duties.”