Can You Play at Online Casinos in Malaysia?

Malaysia is one of the hottest tourism spots in the world. This Southeast Asian country features beautiful beaches, fascinating caves, ancient temples, and the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur.

With that said, you might have Malaysia on your list of future vacations. If you’re a gambler too, you may wonder if it’s possible to play at online casinos in the “Wild East.”

The following guide covers what makes Malaysia so popular, its gambling laws, and its stance on mobile gaming. This post also discusses if you can ultimately play online casino games here without worry.

What Makes Malaysia Such a Draw?

This country offers a solid combination of urban environments and natural beauty. Here, you can visit a secluded temple during the daytime and head back to the city for fine dining at night.

The rural sights are definitely popular among tourists. Here are some of the most notable spots:

• Batu Caves – Located in the Selangor region, the Batu Caves feature a mixture of limestone cliffs and cave-based temples. Many bats and monkeys dwell in this area.
• Cameron Highlands – Named after Sir William Cameron, this area is famous for its tea and coffee plantations.
• Gunung Mulu National Park – Found in Sarawak, East Malaysia, this park features many caves, karsts (white formations made of dissolved rocks), and Mount Mulu.
• Landkawi Sky Bridge – This cable car offers excellent views from Mount Machingchang.
• Mount Kinabalu – As the highest mountain in Malaysia, Mount Kinabalu boasts plenty of great hiking trails and scenic views.
• Perhentian Islands – This island chain, which is found in the Terengganu state, offers some of the clearest waters and best scuba opportunities in the country.
• Tioman Island – Located in the Pahang state, this island has lush rainforests and clear ocean waters.

These spots only cover a small portion of everything that’s available in Malaysia. Regarding the urban scene, Kahala Lumpur is one of the most popular cities in the world.

Featuring a metropolitan area of over 7.6 million people, this capital city is home to the famed Petronas Twin Towers, Maxis Tower, Chinatown, and the National Mosque.

Is Gambling Legal in Malaysia?

The law in Malaysia prohibits gambling of any kind. Unlike many other countries, it doesn’t carve out any exceptions either.

The Betting Act of 1953 closes pretty much all loopholes with regard to illegal gambling. It even addresses telecommunications and other ways of facilitating bets.

This legislation outlines penalties of up to 200,000 ringgits (US$500) and five years in prison for anyone who runs or is even caught gambling at a “betting house.” It covers the exact definition of a betting house as follows:

“Any place kept or used for betting or wagering whether such betting or wagering, be in cash or on credit, on any event or contingency of or relating to any horse race or other sporting event or lottery to which the public or any class of the public has, or may have, access.”

The Betting Act goes on to define a betting house as any place where a bookmaker accepts wagers from customers, including “through the telephone,” “telegram,” or “by any means.”

The Common Gaming Houses Act of 1953 also plays a role in dictating the country’s gambling policies. Compared to the Betting Act, it covers more generalities regarding gambling without as much focus on sports betting.

This law also mentions that those caught operating or betting in a “gaming house” face a fine worth up to 5,000 MYR (US$12) and six months in jail.

It defines gaming house as anywhere that provides a “game of chance or of mixed chance and skill for money or money’s worth.”

Why Is This Country So Against Gambling?

Malaysia’s constitution dictates that Islam is the nation’s official religion. All ethnic Malays, which make up 61.5% of the population, must follow Islam by law. The non-Malays, including the Chinese, Indians, and other ethnicities, can follow their religion of choice.

Due to the Muslim majority, Sharia Law (Islamic Law) comes into play heavily in Malaysia. In fact, Sharia courts run side by side to the country’s secular courts in some matters.

Sharia Law prohibits Muslims from gambling. Given that over 60% of the population follows Islam, or at least loosely follows it, most Malays are fine with the gambling ban.

Arguments have arisen in recent years over whether or not the national laws should be so closely correlated with Sharia Law. However, this argument hasn’t advanced far enough to get the long-time ban on real money gambling repealed.

Online Gambling Falls Under More of a Gray Area

The Common Gaming Houses and Betting Acts of 1953 don’t leave much wiggle room regarding illegal gaming. Both work to prohibit pretty much any type of casino gaming, poker, or sports betting.

Therefore, online casino games should technically be considered illegal in Malaysia. On the other hand, these laws are so old that they don’t address anything about internet casinos.

The Betting Act’s line about prohibiting betting houses from offering wagers “by any means” is damning to operators. Nothing in either act, however, specifically mentions that online gamblers are in violation of the law.

Again, mobile gaming is most likely prohibited in this country. But it’s not as blatantly illegal as running an underground casino, for example, in Kuala Lumpur.

Will You Get Arrested Using Malaysian Online Casinos?

The main people who should worry about getting arrested for internet gaming in Malaysia are those operating gambling sites on home soil.

Authorities have busted a number of individuals for running betting sites and mobile casinos within the country’s borders. These people make for easy targets because they’re located right in Malaysia.

This country has never taken legal action against offshore casinos — let alone local online gamblers. It’s mainly concerned with those who run online gambling sites within Malaysian borders.

I can’t offer a 100% guarantee that you won’t be arrested for playing mobile casinos games in this nation. After all, it seems like authorities could arrest online gamblers if they wanted to.

However, you should be fine playing at offshore mobile casinos within this country.

Can You Play at Malaysia Mobile Casinos With Ringgits?

Many offshore casinos serve this nation with the confidence that they won’t face any legal drama. After all, Malaysian authorities would have a difficult time tracking down offshore operators versus busting people on their own soil.

These gaming sites commonly feature Ringgits (MYR) as a currency to cater to Malays. Therefore, you shouldn’t have much difficulty finding an online casino that accepts MYR deposits.

Of course, you might also find sites that don’t take MYR. In this case, you’ll need to exchange MYR for a popular world currency (e.g. USD, EUR) before depositing.

How to Choose Quality Malaysia Online Casinos

Offshore online casinos aren’t regulated by the Malaysian government. That said, you have no true protections in place if an operator rips you off.

The best way to avoid this problem is by heavily vetting mobile casinos before signing up. Here are some tips for choosing a quality Malaysia-facing casino.

Check Out Reviews

Reviews provide important information on gaming sites. They cover a casino’s games, bonuses, customer support, banking option, and reputation.

The latter point is key when dealing with unregulated sites. A mobile casino with a reputable history is much more trustworthy than one that’s dealt with numerous complaints.

You can also use reviews to save time when looking for an internet casino. This way, you don’t need to visit a bunch of gaming sites and scrutinize them yourself.

Visit Casino Watchdog Sites

Watchdog websites monitor complaints around the online gaming industry. They then list these complaints on their sites and discuss whether the issues are resolved or not.

For example, a player may complain that they were cheated out of a bonus. The watchdog will give their opinion on whether the gambler or casino are in the right.

If you find a prospective gaming site, you can check to make sure that it’s not covered by any of the watchdogs. Assuming any issues have come up, then you can at least see if the mobile casino has resolved them to satisfaction.

Make Sure the Bonus Deals Are Fair

Bonuses are an area where casinos vary a lot. Some gaming sites are really fair on their terms and conditions, while others aren’t so much.

You certainly don’t want to deal with the latter when chasing bonuses. With that said, you should use reviews and watchdog sites to ensure that you’ll be getting fair deals.

Don’t Deposit Until You’re Absolutely Sure

You can end your search for a good Malaysian casino by putting everything together. This means considering all of the reviews, bonus information, and complaints (or lack thereof) regarding a site.

The goal is to ensure that the casino in question is absolutely worthwhile before depositing. After all, you don’t want to later regret putting money on a gaming site.

Conclusion

Malaysia doesn’t have the friendliest view of online casinos or gambling in general. However, the government also doesn’t seem overly concerned with catching mobile players.

They aren’t even after offshore operators. Instead, Malaysia simply works to prevent anybody from operating a casino or betting site from within the country.

You’re very unlikely to get in any trouble for playing at online casinos in Malaysia. You should take care to ensure that you’re dealing with a reputable gaming site, though, given that none of these casinos are regulated.