The police in Johor, Malaysia, have recently launched a large-scale crackdown on illegal gambling. In just two days, a total of 86 shops involved were cut off from electricity, and another 8 shops had their business licenses revoked.
According to reports, the operation was carried out simultaneously in various parts of Johor, involving multiple departments including the police, the national energy company, and local governments. The operation mobilized 18 senior police officers, 46 officers from the criminal investigation department, 48 officials from the national energy company, and 7 local council representatives, focusing on illegal lottery outlets.
The police enforced the law under the "1953 Public Gambling in Residential Areas Act," cutting off electricity to 86 shops suspected of engaging in illegal gambling activities and revoking the business licenses of 8 shops to prevent further illegal gambling activities.
The Chief of Police in Johor stated that from January 1 to February 26, 2024, the national energy company had cut off electricity to 470 shops involved in illegal gambling, and an additional 88 shops were revoked their licenses by local governments for suspected illegal online gambling. In comparison, throughout 2023, a total of 391 gambling-involved shops were cut off from electricity, and 79 shops had their licenses revoked for illegal operations, indicating that the problem of illegal gambling is still severe.
The police remind shop owners to enhance management to prevent tenants from using the premises for illegal gambling and call on the public to actively report related criminal activities to law enforcement agencies to help maintain community security. Additionally, to further curb online gambling, the Johor police have applied to the Communications and Multimedia Commission to block access to illegal gambling websites.
The authorities emphasize that they will continue to crack down on illegal gambling to ensure the social order and public safety of Johor.
