Malaysian fans hold placards during their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification football match against Singapore in Kuala Lumpur July 28th, 2011. Illegal football betting is a serious problem in Malaysia. In raids conducted in July, police uncovered bets worth some 49 million ringgit ($15.7 million) on European Football Cup matches. [Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters]

Malaysia is a Muslim nation that sees gambling as haram, but it is also a multiracial country with tolerance for other races and cultures. Hence the existence of licenced gambling houses, the most famous being the Genting Casino in Pahang and horse racing at the Turf Club.

But there is an illegal side to the gambling industry that sees punters betting on football and even, in a small town called Taiping, in the northern state of Perak, when the rain will fall.

The exact figure for illegal gambling in Malaysia is not known. A police crackdown in July – 150 raids nationwide – uncovered bets worth some 49 million ringgit ($15.7 million) on European Football Cup matches.

FIFA, international football's governing body, monitors police action against illegal betting-- especially in Asia where it is seen as the root cause of match fixing, says Bakri Zinin, Chief of Crime Investigation for the Malaysian Police.

Gambling dens

Closer to home, in Sri Hartamas, a housing area in Kuala Lumpur, Internet-based gambling dens disguised as cybercafés have raised the ire of residents.

Bryan Goh, 52, who has lived in the area for 15 years, expressed amazement at how these illegal gambling dens have been able to operate in broad daylight. Equipped with closed-circuit television cameras and darkly tinted windows, some four outlets have reportedly sprung up within a 100m radius of an under-construction police station.

According to Ronnie Liu, Selangor state executive councilor, such illegal dens operate in one premise for no more than six months before relocating.

Terrence Anand, 43, plays four-digits, a popular lottery game where the punter chooses any number between 0000 and 9999 in hope that it matches the draw of winning digits. Though it is run by several legal operators in Malaysia, syndicates have hopped on the bandwagon.

Unlicenced agents take bets in cash in coffee shops, jotting down numbers on slips of paper, Terrence explained. Syndicates then buy the digits legitimately from licenced counters.

Agents make about 20 sen (cents) commission for every number and in the event of a win, they get some extra 2% on top of their commission.

"If the digit does not come up, then the syndicate keeps the cash. It is not uncommon for agents to get greedy and keep the cash for themselves hoping that the digits will not make it as a winning draw," he said.

The pain of addiction

Florence Chan, 58, is a volunteer counselor at Gamblers Rehab Centre Malaysia, a non-profit, Christian faith-based entity founded in 2003. After nine years of experience helping addicts, she insists there is no happy ending for the habitual gambler, whether they play legally or not.

"Say what you will about afternoon mahjong games or the Chinese New Year card game session, gambling is not part of the Malaysian culture. It is merely a bad habit," Chan said. Many gamblers who turn up at the centre's doorsteps in Bandar Tasik Selatan in Kuala Lumpur are on the verge of suicide.

"They are usually in deep financial debt and have been disowned by their families," she said, whose patients are aged 25 to 60.

"Gambling addiction is classified under compulsive disorders and requires cognitive behavioural therapy," Rusdi Abd Rashid, 39, chief co-ordinator with University of Malaya Centre for Addiction Sciences, told Khabar.

It is no easy task to climb out of a gambling addiction.

Fellow Bandar Tasik Selatan counselor Eric Kee, 48, says gambling can turn obsessive over time.

After winning 2000 ringgit ($651) on a 500 ringgit ($163) bet, a punter sees what he believes is an easy way to win big, and ups his bet. Greed and an emotional inability to accept defeat spur him on to greater risks and bigger losses.

"It is a destructive cycle that will not only lead to financial ruin, but loss of trust among friends, family and work mates," Kee said. "Like substance abusers, gamblers are also prone to lying in order to obtain monetary loans to feed their habit."

Kee's first words of advice to family and friends of compulsive gamblers: stop extending financial help.