MALAYSIAN COPS BUST ONLINE GAMBLING RING

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 : No new car prize for these punters
 
Malaysian police have shut down an online gambling ring operating in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, halting a promotion that offered a new car as the main prize in a lucky draw.
 
Police raided the premises Tuesday evening, Deputy Supt Azman Mohd Isa told The Star newspaper. He revealed that police raided nine illegal gambling premises connected with the internet ring during the two-hour operation and managed to arrest 43 customers, all aged between 20 and 58 years old, including a military policeman.
 
“Most of the customers were pretending to play online games when our men stormed into the premises,” the police officer said, adding that nine caretakers were also detained, and 291 computers were seized, along with RM 3,000 in cash.
 
The newspaper reports that syndicates behind illegal cyber casinos have invested heavily on high-end security and surveillance systems to monitor approaching police raids on their bases.
 
Police claim that the computers have been programmed to “eat up” 70 percent of the money deposited by punters, leaving them with only a 30 percent chance of winning.