Malaysia's 2026 Online Gambling Crackdown in Numbers

Malaysia spent 2026 stepping up action against online gambling. Website blocks, police raids, court fines and a promised new law all made the news. This post puts the official figures in one place, with links to the reports behind them.

This is general information, not legal advice. For the full legal background, see our guide Is Online Gambling Legal in Malaysia?

Website blocks and content takedowns

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocks gambling websites and asks platforms to remove gambling content. Three sets of figures given in Parliament show how far this has grown.

Period	Items removed	Websites blocked	Source
2022 to 1 Feb 2025	224,403 social media posts	More than 5,000	Fahmi Fadzil, Feb 2025
1 Jan 2022 to 15 Sep 2026	828,438	7,411	Fahmi Fadzil, 29 Oct 2026
1 Jan 2025 to 31 Oct 2026	724,879 (of 738,372 requests)	2,603	Teo Nie Ching, 3 Nov 2026

For January to July 2026 alone, MCMC reported 573 gambling websites blocked and 253,424 gambling items taken down through service providers.

One point stands out: the number of items removed has risen far faster than the number of sites blocked. This suggests that promotion on social platforms, not just the casino sites themselves, is a major focus.

On 3 November 2026, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching also said a proposal for MCMC, Bank Negara Malaysia, banks and enforcement agencies to cooperate more closely on accounts and transactions linked to gambling syndicates was being studied. No new law was announced.

Police operations

Op Soga XI: World Cup betting

Police ran Op Soga XI nationwide from 11 June to 19 July 2026, with MCMC, to target betting on the FIFA World Cup. By 29 June, police reported:

293 raids and 331 arrests.
RM145,005 in cash seized.
RM2.63 million in betting transactions linked to the activity.
185 websites, apps and social media accounts flagged for blocking and takedown.

Ops Dadu Khas: 31 October to 1 November

Over two days, 31 October and 1 November, Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department raided 201 premises nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak:

108 premises linked to online gambling and 93 to illegal lotteries.
282 people arrested, aged 20 to 65.
RM32,149 in cash seized, along with phones, tablets and printers.

Police named syndicates operating under names including “Winbox” and “Alibaba”. They opened investigations under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 and the Anti-Money Laundering Act. They also said they would recommend cutting electricity to all 201 premises under section 21A of the Common Gaming Houses Act.

Players are being fined

Enforcement does not stop at operators. 2026 court reports show individual players being fined:

Kuching, September 2026: a man was fined RM2,500 under section 7(2) of the Common Gaming Houses Act after police found Mega888 on his phone. Another man was fined RM2,000.
Kuching, July 2026: a man was fined RM1,500 under section 7(2) for betting on World Cup matches through an online betting site.
Kota Kinabalu, July 2026: a man was fined RM1,800 under the Betting Act for World Cup betting, and another was fined RM1,900 for betting on the World Cup through an online platform.
Penang, July 2026: five men were fined RM3,000 each under section 6(1) of the Betting Act for betting on football through online sites, and three foreign nationals were fined RM5,000 each under section 6(1) of the Common Gaming Houses Act for World Cup gambling.

Section 7(2) carries a fine of up to RM5,000, up to six months in jail, or both. In a separate Kuching case, an expert report confirmed that a phone can count as a “gaming machine” under section 4B(a), which carries a minimum fine of RM10,000 per machine and up to five years in jail.

The Online Safety Act 2025

The Online Safety Act 2025 came into force on 1 January 2026. It puts duties on licensed platforms, including services with at least eight million Malaysian users. They must deal with harmful content, provide reporting tools and file safety plans. Breaches of the core duties can bring penalties of up to RM10 million.

Gambling is not one of the harmful content categories listed in the Act, according to a legal analysis by Mayer Brown. MCMC nonetheless cites the Act, alongside the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, as a basis for its action on online gambling content.

The new law that hasn’t arrived

On 15 February 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said a new law to curb online gambling was being drafted. It might be a new Act or amendments to existing laws such as the Common Gaming Houses Act. He said it could be tabled at the next sitting of the Dewan Rakyat if ready.

That followed a statement in January 2026 by the Home Minister, who told Parliament that police had proposed amending the Common Gaming Houses Act or adding online gambling offences to a proposed Cyber Crime Bill.

As of early November 2026, we found no report that the bill has been tabled. The main gambling laws still date from 1953.

The direction is clear, though. In August 2026, the Finance Ministry said the current government had issued no new gambling licences or permits. Nothing points towards licensing online casinos.

What the numbers mean

Blocking is growing. More than 7,400 gambling sites were blocked from 2022 to mid-September 2026.
Arrests run into the hundreds per operation. Two operations this year produced more than 600 arrests between them.
Players face real penalties. Reported player fines this year ranged from RM1,500 to RM5,000, and the law allows jail.
Money flows are next. Closer work between MCMC, Bank Negara and banks is under study.

If gambling is affecting you or someone close to you, our responsible gambling page lists verified helplines in Malaysia.

Sources

This article is for information only and is not legal or financial advice. 18+. Gambling can be addictive; get help.