Crack down on influencers promoting illegal gambling

PETALING JAYA: In the second quarter of 2024, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will launch an operation against social media influencers promoting illegal online gambling.

His spokesman said the sun MCMC is monitoring the situation and will address the issue through collaboration with police and social media platforms.

We are finalizing the takedown procedures with major social media platforms and will take concrete steps to catch the culprits in the second quarter of 2024, at the latest.

He was responding to concerns on X over suspicions that a 19-year-old influencer who showed off a newly purchased luxury car was involved in gambling activities.

It was later discovered that she and several other influencers were promoting online gambling using several gaming apps.

Online gambling apps are often masquerading as money-making games and have become more popular as social media influencers showcase their earnings, the spokesman said.

The influencers also promote the apps to lure unsuspecting users with the promise of doubling or tripling their earnings.

He stressed that MCMC is committed to exploring cooperation to improve detection, reporting and takedown processes for influencer-promoted online gambling content.

Online gambling is strictly prohibited under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, which is enforced by police.

MCMC takes a zero-tolerance stance against any form of online gambling promotion and actively collaborates with police to combat this illegal activity.

The spokesman also said that MCMC has assisted police in blocking over 1,300 online gambling websites annually since 2018.

We take a proactive approach to monitoring online spaces, including social media, and currently identify social media influencers who promote online gambling.

Beyond blocking websites, we took down many social media accounts and terminated 523,331 phone lines associated with promoting online gambling and other offenses such as unlicensed loans.

The spokesman said it is difficult to quantify the number of social media influencers promoting online gambling due to the dynamic nature of cyberspace.

Cases of impersonating influencers on social media without their permission have also been observed.

However, based on our latest tracking, there is a significant number of people who engage in this harmful practice on social media platforms and this demands our action.

The spokesman added that a 2022 study by HypeAuditor found that social media posts by influencers promoting online gambling received an engagement rate of 5.7% compared to an average of 3.5% for posts on other subjects.

This is a 60% higher engagement and it suggests that the public, especially youth, are potentially more susceptible to gambling because they are influenced by influencers on social media.

The spokesman said that reviews and assessments of existing regulations are being carried out to update them, adding that the move would better address the evolving tactics used by illegal gambling operators and influencers.

We will also launch a nationwide awareness campaign on the dangers of influencer-promoted online gambling.

It will target potential victims and the influencers themselves.

According to Section 6 (1) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, engaging in gaming in a common gaming house is an offense subjecting the offender to a fine of up to RM5,000, a jail term of up to six months or imprisonment . Combination of both.

Gaming is fully defined in Section 2 as the playing of any game of chance or a combination of chance and skill for money or money’s worth.

In 2020, penalties for illegal gamblers and gambling operators undergo a 20-fold increase, from RM5,000 to RM100,000, coupled with the imposition of a minimum jail sentence of six months.