The illegal gaming syndicates generate about us$ 2.9 billion annually, almost similar to the revenue made by legal gaming operators, the newspaper quoted an industry source as saying.
The source attributed the reason of the similar revenues made by illegal syndicates and legal operators to the illegal runners' lower operating costs and no tax payment to the government, said the newspaper. Although the authorities have arrested many illegal operators, there were few main players among them, said Malaysian Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Bakri Zinin.
Malaysia currently has six legal gaming companies, which are asked to pay monthly taxes consisting of eight percent in gaming tax and an additional 6 % in pool betting duty from their average monthly revenue of around us$ 4 and us$ 6 million.
An official of the Ministry of Finance said the ministry has been no longer issuing licenses for new outlets in order to curb gambling among Malaysians.