# Gaming, Casino and Betting Duties in Malaysia

> Malaysia's gambling taxes are among the highest imposed on any industry: a 35% casino duty on gross gaming income, a 30% gaming machine duty, plus 8% pool betting duty and 8% gaming tax each on number forecast operators.

- Category: taxation
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-07
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/taxation/gaming-and-betting-duty

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Every ringgit wagered at a casino table or a 4D counter carries a hidden tax — and in Malaysia, the rate is among the highest the government imposes on any industry.

Gambling in Malaysia is permitted for only a handful of licensed operators, and in return they hand over a large share of their takings to the national treasury. Here is how each type of gambling is taxed.

## What is the casino duty rate in Malaysia?

The casino duty is **35% of gross gaming income**. This rate was raised from 25% in Budget 2019 and took effect from 1 January 2019 — the first increase in casino duty in over 20 years. The previous increase occurred in 1998, when the rate rose from 22% to 25%.

Malaysia's only legal casino is Resorts World Genting, operated by the Genting group, so in practice this duty is paid by a single payer.

## How are gaming machines and licences taxed?

Besides the main duty, operators bear separate duties and licence fees. All of these rates were raised at the same time in 2019.

| Item | Previous rate | Current rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Casino duty | 25% of gross gaming income | 35% of gross gaming income |
| Gaming machine duty | 20% of gross collections | 30% of gross collections |
| Annual casino licence fee | RM120 million | RM150 million |
| Machine dealer's licence fee | RM10,000 a year | RM50,000 a year |

## How much tax is charged on a number forecast ticket?

Number Forecast Operators (NFOs) such as Sports Toto, Magnum and Da Ma Cai are taxed differently from casinos. The tax is charged on every draw, not on profit alone.

Take a simple example — a Sports Toto bet worth **RM2**:

- **8% gaming tax** — 16 sen is deducted from gross sales.
- **8% pool betting duty** — equivalent to 14.72 sen.
- **Prizes** — about 55% (RM1.10) is allocated as prize money to winners.
- **SST** — about 4.39 sen borne by the industry.

In addition, the NFO industry contributes **10% of pre-tax profit** to the National Sports Council, and is still subject to the 24% corporate tax (the standard rate for resident companies) like any other company.

That means that before an operator counts its operating costs and profit, a large part of every bet has already flowed to the government and the national sports fund.

## Why do these rates matter?

The high tax rate makes the gambling sector one of the steady contributors of non-oil revenue to the government, but it also squeezes operators' margins. The higher duty and licence-fee burden since 2019 has put pressure on the costs and profits of casino operators and NFOs, who have to offset it through cost management and their respective product structures.

## What's next

The rates in this article are those in force since the 2019 amendment and have not been raised again in subsequent budgets, but gambling duties are frequently discussed as candidates for revenue increases in every budget round. For the latest official rates, refer to the Ministry of Finance's annual Budget announcements and the government Gazette that sets the pool betting and sweepstake duties. If you want to understand the other taxes that gambling operators also bear, see our notes on the sales and service tax (SST) and corporate income tax.

## Sources

- How much taxes do gaming companies, NFOs and breweries pay? — https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/how-much-taxes-do-gaming-companies-nfos-and-breweries-pay (The Edge Malaysia)
- It pays to dabble in bets and booze as these sectors contribute RM20 billion in revenue — https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/it-pays-dabble-bets-and-booze-these-sectors-contributes-rm20-billion-revenue (The Edge Malaysia)
- Where does a RM2 bet on Sports Toto go? — https://www.klsescreener.com/v2/news/view/1463773/Where_does_a_RM2_bet_on_Sports_Toto_go (KLSE Screener)
- Malaysia — Corporate — Taxes on corporate income — https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/malaysia/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income (PwC (Worldwide Tax Summaries))

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