Malaysian punter sues newspaper over online gambling ad

6/26/10 – A Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contractor has filed a High Court claim against a private limited company and a newspaper, alleging that they induced him to gamble.
 
Chuah Yan Keng (43) claims that the newspaper published an advertisement last year on services provided by another defendant company and/or three unidentified online gambling websites, reports The Star newspaper.
 
The advertisement was published at the request of the company, which is the wholesale agent for the websites.
 
The plaintiff claims he paid RM150,000 into the company’s nominated bank account and obtained an access code. He later placed bets through the online gambling websites, and was fortunate enough to win RM261,286.35, but the company refused to pay him.
 
He subsequently discovered that the company was not licensed to offer online gambling, a serious offence in a country with such strong anti-gambling measures.
 
The action is based on idea that the defendants have a statutory duty under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 not to make a false or misleading representation, and that the publisher of the newspaper failed to make all reasonable inquiries to ascertain if the company was also providing illegal online gambling services.
 
The plaintiff is seeking RM150,000 in special damages, RM261,286.35 in aggravated and or exemplary damages, costs, interest and further relief deemed fit by the court.