Legal betting in Malaysia
Malaysia is mostly a Muslim country and a recent news article that appeared in the News International (14th May 2010) has been stirring things up in the Asian country. It states that betting is to be legalised in Malaysia, which is a very big deal for all involved. Gambling is illegal in Islam and since Malaysia is mostly a Muslim country this ruling could have serious consequences. We will have to wait and see what people in Malaysia do after this decision is made public. Will the people of the country accept it or will they reject it? We will have to watch out.
This new ruling seems like it has the potential to become a powder keg because of the differences in opinions of the people for it and those who are opposed to it. Malaysia seems like the kind of place where a secular government is in place and it takes decisions on the basis of what it feels will benefit the entire country. It could be that Malaysia is a place where a secular government and the country’s main religion are able to work in harmony and everyone who is a part of it all accept and try to understand each other’s perspective.
The article that inspired this story says that the decision was taken in order to curb the rampant illegal betting that takes place in the country. The article goes on to say, “By some estimates, the illegal betting market in Malaysia is thought to be as much as 20 billion ringgit per annum,” (The News International, 14th May, 2010). That is a huge amount of money by anyone’s standards and if that can be controlled and brought into a legal framework then the government of Malaysia and its people will both benefit from it.
It seems logical that in order to curb an illegal act just make it legal. This has been proven in many different countries to great effect; one example is the legalisation of prostitution in Amsterdam. It led to a drop in crime rates and a better and safer working environment for those involved. This could very well happen the same way in Malaysia; it will probably lead to a reduction in illegal betting and the crime that goes along with it. By legalising it in the country it will also bring in revenue to the government and help the economy in a big way as well. So there is a win-win situation going on here for the government, they are able to reduce crime and earn some revenue at the same time. It sounds like a pretty good idea to me.
There are benefits for the people of Malaysia as well, the fact will remain that by reducing crime and increasing the revenue of the government, the country will be in a better position and it will benefit Malaysia as a whole. This way the citizens of Malaysia will be able to live in a freer, safer and wealthier nation.
By taking the big step of legalising betting the Malaysian government will also be sending a message to the international sport’s community that Malaysia is a serious player in the world of sports and is moving along with the times and is serious about curbing the menace of illegal betting that is plaguing the sport’s world. The evils that come along with illegal betting are numerous with things like match fixing and corruption, by legalising betting in sports events they will be brought into a much more manageable and controllable sphere.
Legalising betting has been a very positive move for Malaysia and a lot of people will benefit out of the deal, some more than others; the criminals will probably not be too happy about it but at the end of the day the government has to do things which benefit the country and its people. It would be a good idea for other countries to follow Malaysia’s lead and try and curb the all too easy flow of crime that follows illegal betting practices.
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