Malaysia's Finance Ministry said the Madani government has issued no new gambling licences or permits and has not increased the number of gambling premises. The statement answers remarks by Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, head of the government of the state of Kedah, that circulated in local media. The ministry called them misleading, saying they could leave an audience with the impression that federal authorities do not control gambling activity, or that new licences were approved to grow the number of premises in Kedah.
Every licence and permit in force rests on approvals granted from the 1990s onward, the ministry said. None are new.
The ministry also set out how the frequency of special lottery draws moved. In 2020 the Pakatan Harapan government decided to cut them from 22 a year to eight. The federal government under Perikatan Nasional and Barisan Nasional restored 22 draws a year later in the same 2020. After the Madani government took office at the end of 2022, one of its first decisions reversed that again: from January 2023 the frequency went back to eight a year.
Conditions applied to licence holders are strict, the ministry added. Licensed gambling is restricted, regulation is being tightened, and enforcement against unlicensed operators and online gambling stepped up.
For operators and affiliate teams the legal perimeter in Malaysia stays narrow, and the online segment sits outside it. No new entry points opened on this market.
