BETTING ACT 1953

Betting LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 495 BETTING ACT 1953 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 1 2 BETTING ACT 1953 First enacted … ... ... ... … … … 1953 (Ord. No. 47 of 1953) Revised 1992 (Act 495 w.e.f. 15 October 1992) … … … … … … … PREVIOUS REPRINT First Reprint ... ... ... ... ... 2002 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 495 BETTING ACT 1953 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 3. Nuisance 4. Offences relating to common betting houses and betting information centres 5. Advancing money for conducting 6. Betting in a common betting house, and book-making 6A . Penalty for publication or announcement of result of horse race 7. Money paid recoverable 8. Presumption against person accepting or receiving stakes, etc. 9. Presumption against house and occupier 9A . Presumptions against betting information centre and occupier 10. Presumption against house, occupier, and owner 11. Order for demolition of structural contrivances for facilitating betting 12. Search warrant against premises 13. Search warrant against persons 13A . Arrest and search upon suspicion 14. Magistrate, Justice of the Peace or Senior Police Officer may search 14A . Evidence by police officer to be presumptive evidence 15. Protection of informers from discovery 16. Examination of offenders 17. Binding over on second conviction 18. Trial 4 Laws of Malaysia Section 19. Stakes 20. Exemption from Act 21. Reward to informer 22. (Omitted) A CT 495 Betting 5 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 495 BETTING ACT 1953 An Act to suppress betting houses and betting in public places. [Peninsular Malaysia—15 October 1953; Sabah, Sarawak and Federal Territory of Labuan—15 April 1992, P.U. (B) 164/1992, P.U. (B) 165/1992] Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Betting Act 1953. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “access” includes access through the telephone, by post or by telegram; “betting information centre” means any place kept or used for receiving or transmitting by telephone or other means any information relating to any horse race or other sporting event for the purpose of betting or wagering in contravention of this Act; “bookmaker” means any person who— (i) whether on his own account or as penciller, runner, servant or agent for any other person, receives or negotiates bets or wagers, whether on a cash or credit basis and whether for money or money’s worth; or (ii) in any manner holds himself out or permits himself to be held out in any manner as a person who receives or negotiates such bets or wagers; 6 Laws of Malaysia A CT 495 “common betting house” means— (i) any place kept or used for betting or wagering whether such betting or wagering, be in cash or on credit, on any event or contingency of or relating to any horse race or other sporting event or lottery to which the public or any class of the public has, or may have, access; (ii) any place kept or used for habitual betting or wagering on any such event or contingency as aforesaid, whether the public has, or may have, access thereto or not; or (iii) any place used by a bookmaker for the purpose of receiving or negotiating bets or wagers on any such event or contingency as aforesaid, whether such bets or wagers reach the bookmaker by the hand of the person placing the bet or his agent or the bookmaker’s agent or through the telephone or the post or by telegram or by any other means; “equipment” includes any appliances, apparatus or accessory used or intended to be used for any communication between person to person, thing and thing or person and thing by means of telecommunications or any transmission of postal articles by means of post; “penciller” means a person who helps a bookmaker to keep his accounts or record of bets in connection with horse-races; “place” means any house, office, room or building, and any place or spot, whether open or enclosed, and includes a ship, boat or other vessel whether afloat or not, and any vehicle; “runner” means a person employed by a bookmaker to collect and settle bets, either on salary or on commission; “Senior Police Officer” means any police officer not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent and includes in the States of Sabah and Sarawak and in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan any police officer specially authorized by the Minister charged with the responsibility for Police and in any State any police officer specially authorized by the State Authority by notification in the Gazette to exercise the powers of a Senior Police Officer under this Act; “State Authority” has the same meaning as defined in the Local Government Act 1976 [Act 171]; Betting 7 “sporting event” includes any race, fight, game, sport or exercise; “telecommunication” has the same meaning as in the *Telecommunications Act 1950 [Act 20]; “telecommunication system” means any system used or intended to be used for telecommunications. (2) A place shall be deemed to be “used” for a purpose if it is used for that purpose on only one occasion. (3) A place shall be deemed to be used for habitual betting or wagering if betting or wagering is frequently carried on therein, notwithstanding that betting or wagering is not the primary purpose for which such place is normally used. (4) Every person who demises or lets for hire a place shall be deemed the “owner” thereof. Nuisance 3. A common betting house shall be deemed to be a common nuisance and contrary to law. Offences relating to common betting houses and betting information centres 4. (1) Any person who— (a) being the owner or occupier, or having the use temporarily or otherwise, thereof, keeps or uses a place as a common betting house or betting information centre; or (b) permits a place of which he is the owner or occupier, or of which he has the use temporarily or otherwise, to be kept or used as a common betting house or betting information centre; or (c) has the care or management of, or in any manner assists in the management or in the business of, a place kept or used as a common betting house or betting information centre; or *NOTE—The Telecommunications Act 1950 [Act 20] has since been repealed by the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 [Act 588]–see s. 273 of Act 588. 8 Laws of Malaysia A CT 495 (d) receives directly, or indirectly, any money or valuable thing, for or in respect of any bet or wager on any such event or contingency as is mentioned in this Act, in a common betting house or betting information centre; or (e) announces, exhibits or publishes, or causes to be announced, exhibited or published, either orally or by means of any letter, circular, telegram, placard, handbill, card, print, writing, design, sign, advertisement or otherwise, that a place is opened, kept or used as a common betting house or betting information centre within or without Malaysia, or in any other manner invites or solicits any person to commit a breach of any provisions of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than twenty thousand ringgit and not more than two hundred thousand ringgit and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. (2) Any person who occupies or has the use temporarily of a place which is kept or used by another person as a common betting house or betting information centre shall be presumed until the contrary is proved to have permitted such place to be so kept or used. Advancing money for conducting 5. Any person who advances or furnishes money for the purpose of establishing or conducting the business of a common betting house shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than ten thousand ringgit and not more than one hundred thousand ringgit and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. Betting in a common betting house, and book-making 6. (1) Any person who bets or wagers in a common betting house, or with a bookmaker on any premises or by any means, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both. (2) A person found in a common betting house, or found escaping therefrom on the occasion of its being entered under this Act, shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be or to have been betting or wagering therein. Betting 9 (3) Any person who— (a) acts as a bookmaker in any place; (b) for the purpose of bookmaking or betting or wagering or settling bets frequents or loiters in any common betting house or in any place to which the public has or may have access; or (c) assists, by giving warning or otherwise, any person committing an offence under this Act to evade arrest or detection, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than twenty thousand ringgit and not more than two hundred thousand ringgit and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. (4) When any person is convicted of an offence against this section all books, accounts, documents, telegrams, writings, circulars, cards or other articles used as a subject or means of betting or wagering, or in connection therewith, and all moneys or securities for money found in his possession which the Magistrate is of opinion were used or intended to be used for betting or wagering shall be declared by him to be forfeited to the Government and shall be dealt with accordingly. (5) (a) An offence against subsection (3) shall be a non-bailable, seizable offence and any person making an arrest for such an offence may seize and detain any articles liable to be forfeited. (b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593] a police officer not below the rank of Inspector shall have power to release on bail a person accused of an offence against subsection (3). Penalty for publication or announcement of result of horse race 6A . (1) Any person who for the purpose of betting or wagering in contravention of this Act announces or publishes or causes to be announced or published, either orally or by means of print, writing, sign or otherwise, the result of any public lottery or horse race or other sporting event shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than five thousand ringgit and not more than fifty thousand ringgit and shall also be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. 10 Laws of Malaysia A CT 495 (2) Subsection (1) shall not apply— (a) to anything published or forming part of any announcement in any newspaper relating to any horse race or the result thereof if such newspaper has been printed or published under a licence in that behalf duly issued in accordance with the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 [Act 301]; (b) to any lottery promoted by the Social and Welfare Services Lotteries Board, under the *Social and Welfare Services Lotteries Board Act 1950 [Act 252]; (c) subject to the provisions of any permit granted in respect thereof, to any public lottery promoted under any permit granted under the Lotteries Act 1952 [Act 288]; (d) to the Totalizator Board established under the Racing (Totalizator Board) Act 1961 [Act 494], to officers, agents and employees of such Board when acting in the course of their duties as such, and to the officers, members, agents and employees of any turf club acting as agents of such Board under section 16 of any approved scheme made under the said Act when acting in the course of their duties as such; (e) in such other circumstances and in relation to such other