Malaysian police arrest 331 in nationwide crackdown on illegal World Cup betting

Malaysian police arrested 331 individuals nationwide as part of Op Soga XI, targeting illegal sports betting and online gambling linked to the FIFA World Cup 2026 ^{[1, 2, 3]}. The nationwide operation began on June 11 and is set to continue until July 19, with 293 raids conducted so far ^{[1, 4, 2, 3]}.

Of those arrested, 312 were men and 19 were women. 234 were Malaysian citizens, while 97 were foreigners ^{[1, 2, 3]}. Authorities seized approximately RM145,000 in cash and uncovered betting transactions worth more than RM2.63 million during the raids ^{[1, 2, 3]}. Police detected 185 illegal websites, online platforms, applications, and social media accounts promoting football betting ^{[1, 2, 3]}. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been cooperating with police to block these sites and remove gambling content ^{[1, 2, 3]}.

In Penang, police arrested nine people in two call centre raids at Gelugor and Butterworth. The Gelugor raid on June 26 led to four arrests, including one local woman and three foreign men ^[4]. The Butterworth raid on June 28 resulted in five arrests of local men aged 27 to 41 ^[4]. Penang police have conducted 21 raids in total, arrested 28 people, and seized RM8,935 as part of the operation ^[4].

Datuk M. Kumar, Bukit Aman CID director, said, "The operation was launched to curb illegal sports betting and online gambling activities, which are expected to increase during the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament" ^[1]. Penang police chief Datuk Dennis Lim Kwang Keng added, "Penang police will continue intensifying Op Soga XI throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup, focusing on detecting call centres, betting agents, organisers and individuals involved in gambling activities, whether physically or online" ^[4].

Investigations are ongoing under the Betting Act 1953, Immigration Act 1959/63, and laws related to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing ^{[1, 4, 2, 3]}. On June 30, the Magistrate’s Court in George Town rejected a police application to remand four suspects arrested in the Gelugor call centre raid ^[5].