God of Gamblers

Three weeks ago or so, there was a lot of hoo haa when the government announced that the sports betting licence has been re-awarded to Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd. NGOs suddenly appear out of no where to condemn the move. PR led governments immediately announced that they will ban sports betting in their states. Everyone seems to have something to say about the issue.

Today a different story surfaced … apparently, no licence was issued to Ascot.

The Star – The government has yet to issue or give the licence to Syarikat Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd to carry out football betting operations in Malaysia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said the government had also not finalised discussions on the licensing terms and conditions with the company to undertake bookie activities in Malaysia.

Malaysian Insider – The Finance Ministry today denied awarding a sports betting licence to tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan's Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd despite earlier reports that the company will accept wagers for next season's English Premier League.

In a written reply in Parliament by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also Prime Minister, to questions from four MPs, the ministry said the government has not yet concluded its discussions and terms regarding the legalisation of sports betting.

But yesterday it was reported that tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan will donate the proceeds of RM525mil from the proposed sale of his 70% stake in Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd to a foundation he has renamed “Better Malaysia Foundation.’’

On the 14^th of May, Sin Chew Daily reported Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung as saying “Now, the Government has discovered that people are interested in sports betting regardless of whether the activities were legal or not. Therefore, the Government has to reissue a sports gaming licence to fight illegal sports gaming activities,”

So, what is going on? Was there a licence or not? Is this a policy u-turn by the government after seeing the objections from the public, including non-Muslims?

I’ve never agreed on gambling, legal or otherwise. Maybe it’s due to my risk averse nature. Mostly it’s due to my fear of taking too much risk. And of course my religion prohibits maisir so gambling is a no-no. I also know you can never beat the house, so the punters will always lose and the bookies/casinos will always make money.

In a plural society with unlimited freedom of choice guaranteed by the constitution, it would be difficult to ban all forms of gambling completely. If I was the government, I would restrict gambling opportunities, limit the number of Magnum and Toto outlets to maybe one per district and any district with Muslim population exceeding 51% cannot have any gambling outlets. Close all the other race courses and keep only one with monthly race days instead of weekly. Increase gaming taxes and make it compulsory for gaming companies to maintain at least one waste management facility in every state. One armed bandits and jackpot machines in private clubs will also be heavily taxed. Severe penalties will be imposed on illegal gambling operators. Severe mean those convicted of running illegal gambling operations should expect to face at least 5 years in jail and a fine of not less than RM500,000 and will have to undertake at least 500 hours of community service in the form of cleaning public toilets.

Given the underworld connections of the illegal bookies, I’d probably have a price on my head …