Is it legal to play Poker online in Malaysia? Is online poker rigged or safe? Know the answers to all questions & insights on 3 Malaysia gambling laws at 88MYR!
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Poker is one of the fun games to play among friends or among family get-togethers, but this is also a game that you can play online at casino sites like M88 to earn some extra cash. However, if you play poker online for money then it would be considered gambling, and thus, the question of whether is it legal to play Poker online arises. Well, to find the answers to this question let us dive into it in detail below.
Is it legal to play Poker online in Malaysia?
Getting straight to the point, let us first look into the question of whether or not it is legal to play Poker online in Malaysia. The answer to this question is neither a yes nor a no, but highly depends on where you play poker online in Malaysia as there are some gambling laws related to casino gaming online in the country that you must adhere to.
These gambling laws do not allow its customers to play poker as this is considered to be a gambling game. That being said, there are poker sites available that many Malaysian players can access to play Poker online. Are they doing so legally? Not really, as these sites are backed by foreign licenses that allow their customers to play poker online in Malaysian ringgit. For instance, M88 Poker site allows its customers with legal virtual game rooms online.
In addition to this, there are no laws in Malaysia explicitly stating that online gambling on foreign sites is illegal. This means that as long as the site Malaysian players use is from a foreign company with a foreign authoritative license, then there is no need to worry about the legality of online poker. However, there are still some Malaysian laws that you should be aware of and adhere to if you make the decision of playing poker online. To play legal poker online, make an account in the M88 Register today!
3 Malaysian gambling laws you should know
Above we mentioned that there are gambling laws in Malaysia that you must adhere to when playing poker online. Below mentioned are 3 important gambling laws of Malaysia, the Common Gaming House Act (CGHA) 1953, the Betting Act (1953), and the Shariah Law. Since, playing poker online is completely up to you and your choice of entertainment, knowing these laws would help you make the decision of whether or not you wish to play poker online.
1. Common Gaming House Act 1953
The Common Gaming House Act 1953 or CGHA 1953 is one of the oldest gambling laws which continues to persist with many amendments being made to it as the world advances from offline to online gambling. The last amendment was made in the year 2006 and thus, this law is active in Malaysia till date.
- The law prohibits gamblers from playing any gambling game in public gaming houses. But with amendments, it also prohibits any use of electronic devices like mobile phones, computers, etc.
- If found guilty then the person or persons would be charged with a fine of up to RM200,000 and/or jail time of 5 years, depending on the severity of the offense.
2. Betting Act 1953
The next law that you should be aware of is the Betting Act law passed in the same year as the aforementioned one. The Betting Act of 1953 is another one of the oldest gambling laws in Malaysia that is still active. However, unlike the previous law, this law allows Malaysian players to play 2 types of gambling.
- Firstly, this act allows Malaysian gamblers to indulge in two forms of gambling which are Lottery and also Horse Racing. However, this does not apply to any Muslim Malaysian players, the reason for which is explained in the third law in this article.
- Secondly, the Betting Act allows the only physical casino in Malaysia, Sky Casino in Genting Highlands, to operate legally and act as a tourist spot. However, Sky Casino has its own set of rules and regulations that every customer must follow.
3. Shariah Law
The third law that is important and active in Malaysia related to gambling is the Shariah or Syariah Law which mainly focuses on the Muslim citizens of Malaysia. Since most Malaysian Citizens are Muslims, this Law comes from a religious and ethical background in their culture and is backed by legal actions.
- In this law, Muslim Malaysian citizens must avoid gambling, offline or online, as Muslims are forbidden to play any gambling games according to the moral teachings of Islam. This law not only prohibits gambling but also prohibits alcohol, adultery, and blasphemy.
- Since this is a strict rule of Islam and most people in Malaysia are Muslim, any Muslim going against this by gambling online or even being found in Sky Casino would be subjected to jail time of 2 years and a fine of up to RM3,000.
Top 5 ways to play poker online legally and safely
In the end, the decision on the legality of online poker kind of depends on your mindset and the risks you are willing to take to play poker online in a country with gambling laws. If you decide to go ahead with playing poker online, then you definitely should take some precautions along with some Poker Tips Online to win, because even if poker is legal to play, the question of whether is it safe to play poker online persists. So, here are 5 ways to ensure you play poker legally as well as safely online.
- Use a legally licensed online casino site: Firstly, it is important to look into whether the online casino you select has a legal foreign license or not. This license must be owned by a foreign authority which must be active. M88 Live Casino has a foreign Interactive Gaming license from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development from the Republic of Vanuatu, which makes this a good online gambling site to play legal and safe online poker.
- Check for SSL certification for security: Next, it is important for you to check your site’s SSL certification even if it is backed by a legal foreign license. This is because, foreign sites offer their products to many countries across the globe and so, the SSL certificate would prove that the site is safe and secure to play as well as make transactions online. The SSL certificate must be active and up to date on the betting site you select.
- Use sites with virtual Poker game rooms: Another way to ensure you play safe poker online is by using virtual online game rooms instead of playing in the live dealer ones as the virtual game rooms have an RNG system when it comes to dealing cards. This means that you cannot rig any poker game online with the strong RNG system as the cards are literally dealt to players randomly ensuring a safe-to-play environment online.
- Go through the partnership deals on the website: To know more about the legality of online poker on the site you select then you must look into their partnership history. If there are top teams and game providers signing up for deals with the site, then the site is most likely to be a trusted one. Sites like M88 give you M88 Promotion bonuses as a way to support their top sponsors online, which is another sign of a credible betting site.
- Use Poker rooms from top game room providers: Lastly, if you found a good gambling site that meets most of the requirements that prove it is a legal site for poker gaming, then you must make sure to use only those poker game rooms that are well-known in the gambling world online. Some of these include Pragmatic Play, Habanero, Playtech, etc. as these are well-known gameroom providers in the betting world online.
Conclusion
So, the answer to whether Is it Legal to Play Poker Online in Malaysia is neither yes nor no but depends on whether you use a legal website to access the game which is backed by a legal and up-to-date foreign license. That being said, it is important to adhere to the gambling laws in Malaysia as in the end the decision to gamble or not depends on you. With that being said, we bid adieu and wish you happy and safe gambling online!
