Over 457,000 Online Gambling Contents Removed Since January 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 457,562 online gambling-related contents have been removed by service providers for the period from January 1, 2025 to May 31.
The Ministry of Communications informed that the figure represents 98 per cent of the total 467,772 content removal requests submitted as a result of proactive monitoring by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as official requests from enforcement agencies.
“For the same period, a total of 1,778 gambling websites have also been blocked by Internet service providers based on requests from MCMC,” it said in a written reply posted on the Parliament website today in response to a question from Datuk Dr Richard Rapu (GPS-Betong) regarding the statistics on blocked gambling advertisement portals as well as arrests of online gambling operators.
According to the ministry, issues related to gambling activities generally fall under the jurisdiction of the Royal Malaysia Police in line with the Open Gambling Houses Act 1953, but MCMC always provides support through investigative assistance and blocking under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 as well as the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866).
Meanwhile, in a written reply to a question from Prabakaran M Parameswaran (PH-Batu), the Ministry of Communications informed that MCMC had submitted a total of 275,787 content removal requests related to scams for the period from January 1, 2022 to June 30.
Of the total requests, which also involved fake accounts and impersonation, 262,293 contents or 95 per cent have been removed by service providers based on complaints and applicable local laws.
To address financial fraud under Act 866, a total of five content removal requests were submitted for the period from January 1 to June 30 this year, all of which were successfully removed.
The ministry added that the whole-of-government approach continues to be strengthened through the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) as well as the implementation of the Safe Internet Campaign, which to date has covered 10,303 schools and higher education institutions nationwide.
Media Selangor