The number of special gambling draws will again be reduced to eight times a year compared to 22 times, said the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
This is in keeping with the Pakatan Harapan government’s decision in 2020 to reduce the frequency of the special draws to only eight times annually.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government with Bersatu and Pas had increased the frequency of special draws to 22 times last year.
Speaking at a news conference after chairing his first Council of Ministers meeting today (Dec 5), Anwar said that the drastic decision was taken even though he had only been in charge of the Ministry of Finance for a day.
“(Within) one day of becoming Finance Minister, I made the decision to supersede the earlier decision issued by the previous government, which then included Pas and Bersatu, regarding the special gambling draws. The pervious government had increased the frequency of the draws from eight to 22 times.
“Today, I issued an instruction for it to be returned to the old number, which is eight times. This would come into effect from January 1, 2023 onwards, he said.
In 2021, the government then had given gambling companies permission to hold 22 “special draws” for 4D numbers which increased the frequency three-fold.
