Gruelling to navigate online gambling in cyberspace

PETALING JAYA: The complexity of the digital world that allows one to mask their identity is making it almost impossible to regulate online gambling, said a cybersecurity expert.

LGMS Berhad chairman and Cybersecurity Consultant CF Fong said anyone could set up online gaming sites so monitoring and tracking who the real owners are will be difficult.

Fong believes legalising online gaming could lead to other social issues.

“When you allow online gambling, anyone can set up his gambling site and collect money from people. So unless the (act of) gambling is based on brick and mortar gambling establishments, it will not be feasible to regulate.

“Ethically, I don’t think it is good because you are encouraging and giving the public more access to gambling,” he said.

Blocking unlicensed sites can also be a hassle, Fong said. “They will keep changing their domain name once their servers have been blocked. They can notify their players via messenger on the new sites that can pop up quickly. It will be difficult for the authorities to keep track and block them,” he said.

Fong said many online gambling sites have their servers hosted abroad, making it harder to identify the owners.

The operators also use mule accounts for transactions to mask their identities.

He said they have many such accounts to hide their financial transactions – from betting to commerce. “Some even accept Touch ‘n Go ewallet payments.”

He also said some of the operators used runners to make cash payouts – with a small fee imposed on the winners – to prevent their operations from being traced to them.

Besides websites, online gambling has also become a mobile application.

“Typically, a domain name for a gambling site is easy to remember, for example, AAA.com,” he said.