Malaysia stronger laws against cyber cafe gambling

Thursday November 21 ,2013 :  MALAYSIAN PROVINCE TO MOVE AGAINST CYBER CAFE GAMBLING
 
New law will have more teeth, says local government chief.
 
The Selangor state in Malaysia is working on stronger laws against cyber cafe gambling, the province's chairman of the Local Government, Study and Research Standing Committee, Datuk Teng Chang Khim revealed this week.
 
The new law will give local authorities more power, allowing police officers to be more effective in stamping out online gambling, he said during a debate in the state legislative assembly on how government is tackling a situation where illegal operators are back in business within days of being shuttered and having computers seized.
 
Teng said at present local authorities could only seize computers used in gambling, but the cyber cafe operators can start operating again and reclaim their equipment by paying a relatively small fine.
 
The new law will change that with a provision which allows enforcement officials to permanently confiscate computer equipment used in illegal gambling, he said.
 
Additional clauses would be designed to ensure that applicants for a cyber cafe licence install two softwares specifically for the purpose of monitoring, Teng said.