Malaysia

Malaysia
likely to
scrap plans
on betting

Agence France-Presse
Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia will likely rescind approval for a bid to introduce
legal soccer betting as there are too many gambling operators in
the predominantly Muslim country, officials and local media said
on Saturday.

The government is considering withdrawing a 20-year concession
awarded in June 2003 for betting on English Premier League
matches and other international sports events, The New Straits
Times reported, citing official sources.

It was reconsidering the case amid fears of a backlash from
Muslims who make-up over half of Malaysia's 25 million
population, the sources said.

The concession was awarded to Ascot Sports Sdn. Bhd., owned by
gaming tycoon Vincent Tan, by the finance ministry when it was
headed by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, the paper said.

But it was being reconsidered by the administration of Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who took over after Mahathir
retired Oct. 31 last year after 22 years in power.

"The government is of the opinion that there are too many
gambling licenses issued to operators in the country and also
that allowing legal betting will not eliminate illegal betting,"
a government source told the newspaper.

The finance ministry is likely to return the 25-million-
ringgit (US$6.58 million) fee that Ascot paid to secure the
license, the source said.

An official with the prime minister's department told AFP that
the cabinet discussed the issue at its weekly meeting Wednesday
and was likely to disallow Ascot from commencing operations. No
other details were available.

Under the terms of the license, Ascot can only take wagers
from non-Muslims above 21 years old and must use existing gaming
outlets run by Malaysia's number-forecast operators.

This is a second bid by Tan, who owns listed Berjaya Group, to
introduce sports betting in Malaysia. Ascot was first issued a
similar bookie's license in 1987 but closed down its three
outlets two years later when the government tightened control on
gaming.

Soccer gambling is banned in Malaysia, which has a casino,
horse-racing and lottery operations. Analysts estimate some five
billion ringgit or more is waged annually on English Premier and
other matches via illegal bookies.

Asian countries that have already legalized sports gaming are
Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.