Police today said that many licensed gaming centres are located within private clubs, which also have Muslims as club members.
According to Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Abd Jalil Hassan, the Muslim members, however, are only allowed to use other facilities inside these clubs while the gambling houses are off-limits to them.
"Although the gaming centres are situated inside club premises, these premises also provide other activities which are not related to gambling.
"They have coffee houses and swimming pools, among others, for their members' use. But for Muslim (members), they are not allowed to get into the gaming centres inside the clubs.
"And we (police) always monitor (that the law is followed)," he told a press conference at Bukit Aman.
The police commissioner's statement came amid allegations that many Muslims are frequenting licensed gambling centres.
On Monday, opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim claimed in Parliament that "tens of thousands" of Muslims are gambling on slot machines in at least 62 clubs licensed with such facilities.
The PKR president however did not provide evidence to back his claim.
Viral video
Coincidentally, a short video clip also went viral on social media several days earlier, showing what was claimed to be a casino in Kuala Lumpur being frequented by Muslims.
Under the law, only non-Muslims aged 21 and above are allowed to enter gambling houses.
Commenting on the video, Abd Jalil told reporters that police could not confirm if the individuals in it were Muslims as many were wearing face masks.
He said the police performed checks at the gaming centre following the viral clip but found no indication that it had admitted Muslim patrons.
"Checks revealed that no Muslims were allowed inside. Based on CCTV recordings and a visitors logbook, there were no signs of Muslims allowed to enter the gambling area.
"There were Muslims who entered the club (where the gaming centre was located), but they went to the coffee house, swimming pool and other facilities instead of the gaming house," he added. - Mkini
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