Police arrest 282 in nationwide crackdown on online gambling and illegal lotteries

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar (centre) shows electronic devices seized during a nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on November 2, 2026. — Picture by Muhammad Yusry

By Muhammad Yusry

First Published: Monday, 02 Nov 2026 1:12 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Police arrested 282 people and seized RM32,149 in cash during a nationwide crackdown on online gambling and unlicensed lottery operations involving 201 business premises over the weekend.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk M. Kumar said the two-day operation, dubbed Ops Dadu Khas, was conducted from October 31 to November 1 across the country, including Sabah and Sarawak.

He said 201 raids were carried out, comprising 108 premises linked to online gambling activities and 93 involving unlicensed public lottery operations.

“The 282 individuals arrested were aged between 20 and 65, comprising 229 men and 53 women.

“Of these, 223 were Malaysians while the remaining 59 were foreign nationals from Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh, who had been employed by local syndicates,” he said at a press conference at Menara 2 Bukit Aman here.

Kumar said the police also seized various equipment and electronic devices believed to have been used in the illegal gambling operations, including tablets, mobile phones and mobile printers.

He said all those arrested had been remanded for between one and four days to assist investigations and help identify the masterminds behind the activities.

Kumar said preliminary investigations had identified several syndicates operating under names including Winbox and Alibaba, with police working to identify their leaders.

He added that investigations would also be conducted under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), as offences under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 could serve as predicate offences for money laundering investigations.

Kumar said the police would also recommend that electricity supplies to all 201 premises be disconnected after investigations were completed, in accordance with Section 21A of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.

He said the syndicates often moved between premises to evade detection, using business establishments such as cafes, beverage outlets and sundry shops as fronts for their online gambling operations.

“They may operate at location A today, close it tomorrow and move to location B. This is because their operations are conducted online, with transactions also carried out online, allowing them to operate from virtually anywhere,” he said.

Kumar said the police had been conducting intelligence-gathering operations to identify the premises involved and would recommend enforcement action to the relevant local authorities once sufficient evidence had been gathered.

Those arrested are being investigated under various provisions of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, including Sections 4A(a), 4B(a) and 4(1)(c), as well as Sections 6(1)(c) and 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

He said the police would continue intensifying enforcement against all forms of unlicensed gambling, with cooperation from local authorities and other relevant agencies.