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.