Sports Gambling Plan Stalled In Malaysia

Malaysia was preparing to follow in the footsteps of Macau when it comes to gambling expansion, except instead of casinos, the Malaysian government was legalizing sports betting. Now, however, the government has backed off of that plan.

Originally, the government authorized Ascot Sports to run an operation that allowed non-Muslims to bet on sports events taking place around the world. There was a public outcry over the decision, and now the government is revoking the authorization.

"After taking all opinions into account, it is clear to the government that a large part of society does not agree that a betting license should be given to Ascot Sports," said Prime Minister Najib Razak, as reported by The Associated Press.

Those who opposed the new form of regulated gambling did so under the premise that additional gambling options could lead to social ills. It is an argument that has been made for decades in countries all across the world, by groups who do not want the gambling expansion to take place.

In countries such as the US, Spain, and Italy, those arguments are being overpowered by residents who are demanding that their leaders expand gambling. In the US, a gambling revolution has taken place and casinos are popping up in almost every state in the nation.

Land-based gambling may also soon become a gateway to more technologically advanced forms of gambling. Internet gambling is a hot topic throughout the world, and countries have already started to regulate online gambling. The US government created a law in 2006 that makes it more difficult to gamble online, but that law may soon be overturned by the current administration.

Sports gambling is as popular as ever worldwide, and this summer is setting up to bring billions of dollars in bets into sports books thanks to the World Cup. The Super Bowl is the largest single sports betting event each year, however, the World Cup draws the highest sports betting every four years.

June 26, 2010
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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