Malaysia is a land of poker enthusiasts and famed players, like Paul Phua, whose total wins from live tourneys have exceeded $30 million. Yet, grinders looking to play online poker for real money face complicated gambling regulations in the country. Is it legal to play poker online in Malaysia? What are the best poker sites for Malaysian poker players? How to choose a poker site on your own? Discover the answers below.
Malaysian players have access to plenty of offshore-licensed platforms where they can enjoy poker in full. However, exploring the security and quality of these websites may consume a lot of time. To save it, check out our fresh list of the best poker sites in Malaysia. Join any of them and play in a safe and friendly atmosphere.
Category | Poker room | Bonus |
---|---|---|
⭐ Best poker site | Narural8 | 200% up to $1,000 |
✅ Weak field | BetOnline | 100% up to $1,000 |
✅ Crypto-friendly | CoinPoker | 150% up to $2,000 |
✅ Best tournaments | WPT Global | 100% up to $3,000 |
✅ No download required | Stake Poker | VIP Club |
Natural8 is the leading Asian skin of the world's largest poker network GGPoker, targeting players from Southeast Asia, including Malaysia. Despite the fact that online poker is unregulated in the country, Natural8 accepts Malaysians and offers support in Malay and English.
Natural8 ranks first in terms of game volume: hundreds of active tables 24/7, major series (including WSOP Online) and daily MTTs with a total guarantee of tens of millions of dollars.
New players receive a 100% first deposit bonus up to $1,000 and a ticket to a freeroll with a prize pool of $500. As part of the Fish Buffet program, you can earn up to 60% rakeback.
Deposits and withdrawals are possible via cryptocurrency and popular Malaysian payment systems using local exchangers, which makes Natural8 the most convenient choice for players from Malaysia.
WPT Global is a poker room from the World Poker Tour brand, available to players from Malaysia since 2022. The site operates under an offshore license from Costa Rica. A convenient application for Android and iOS is suitable for both beginners and experienced players.
Available game formats:
The tournament lobby contains hundreds of MTTs with buy-ins from $1 to $330. The flagship events are Sunday Slam with guarantees of up to $200K. Satellites to live WPT events are also held.
New players receive a 100% bonus up to $3,000: half is played at the poker tables, the other half in the casino.
CoinPoker is the perfect choice for players from Malaysia who want to play anonymously and use cryptocurrency. The platform does not require account verification, all transactions are processed through USDT and CHP, and funds are stored on external Web3 wallets. The random number generator works on the blockchain, ensuring full transparency of the game.
CoinPoker offers Texas Hold'em (NLH), Omaha (PLO) and PLO5 cash games with limits up to $200/$400, with the main traffic concentrated at 7- and 6-max tables. Tournaments with guarantees of up to $100K are held every Sunday.
For the first deposit, players receive a 150% bonus up to $2,000 with 50% rakeback. Also available: a fixed rakeback of 33% on Mondays and rake races.
There’s tough competition in the online poker industry, and you’ll find a wide choice of platforms. Each has its advertising strategy in the form of bonuses, promotions, and loyalty rewards. Surely, these things are precious. However, when evaluating a poker site, at Worldpokerdeals we start by checking the factors that truly matter for playing with real money:
These are the key factors our experts check with every online poker room in the first place. You can extend this algorithm by checking the targeted platform’s mobile compatibility, user feedback, etc.
It's not technically illegal, but it's not exactly legal either. How does that work? Let's try to explain.
The country’s gambling community lives under the Betting Act 1953 and Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, which were implemented in the pre-Internet era. This results in a common situation for many present-day countries, including Malaysia. Most forms of gambling are strictly prohibited in the country (especially for Muslims). When it comes to online gambling, and online poker in particular, the country’s authorities don’t even issue licenses for them.
Still, the regulation laws dated 1953 have nothing about iGambling, thus pushing local poker players to a kind of grey zone.
A more effective way is to play at an online poker room with an offshore license. For a player, any activities on such a platform won’t lead to serious punishment. However, Malaysian banks must monitor and block all payments suspicious of gambling at overseas poker platforms and casinos. Internet cafes and other hosting businesses that provide players with a connection to offshore online poker for real money in Malaysia suffer severe punishments if disclosed.
A workable hint here is to play at international poker rooms like Natural8, CoinPoker, or WPT Global. These platforms operate under strong privacy policies and focus on Asian markets. They accept at least major crypto coins or ringgit, thus allowing locals to safely join the game and anonymously withdraw their winnings.
Many Malaysians take the poker restrictions as completely outdated. The government is considering legalizing the market, too – this will ensure billions of ringgits in taxes and other economic benefits for the country. So, it’s high time to revise the obsolete Acts that don’t regulate the industry.
Of course, the upcoming reforms should take the demands of the Muslim society into account. Future in-country licenses should have clear policies in this and other respects related to the local specifics. However, Malaysia may soon become a regulated poker market with due licensing and governmental support.
Poker players from Malaysia prefer modern payment solutions that ensure transaction promptness and security. They include e-wallets, crypto instruments, and direct bank transfers. Some poker sites support electronic wallets such as GrabPay, Touch’n Go, and Boost.
These tools can be linked to DuitNow QR – the option supported by most local banks. Thanks to these solutions, users can conduct safe and fast deposits and withdrawals from offshore poker rooms.
Method | Deposits | Withdrawals | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|---|---|
Credit/Debit Card | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | Widely used and easy | Bank blocks are common |
GrabPay. Boost, Touch ’n Go, DuitNow QR | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Rapid and convenient | Insufficient limits |
Bank Transfer (MayBank2u, FPX, DuitNow) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Great for big sums | Slow processing |
Cryptocurrency (BTC, USDT) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Lightning-fast & private | All coins are highly volatile + possible fees |
International sites accept VISA and Mastercard, which attract players by their simplicity and affordability. Still, for Malaysian poker fans these methods probably won't be available since most banks trace gambling transactions made via them and block the payments. An effective model here is to combine e-wallets and crypto instruments to guarantee proper security, privacy, and transaction speed.
The only place to legally play poker in Malaysia is at Resorts World Genting, the only authorized land-based casino in the country, located in Genting Highlands. Clients can place bets here 24/7. The available bet sizes start at RM 5-10 and seldom go beyond these lower limits. Players can participate in famous tournaments like Poker Dream. However, similar events happen at Genting rarely enough.
All other places providing live poker tables are illegal in the country. All their services, including cash tournaments, are usually banned, while the venues themselves are punished and closed.
Malaysia is one of the most unusual poker countries in Asia. In the top 8 of its All Time Money List, each player has more than $10M in prize money. The best of them is businessman and one of the creators of the Triton Poker series Paul Phua. It is noteworthy that it was in the tournaments of this series that Malaysians earned most of their winnings.
Phua came into the gaming business as an organizer of sports betting, and only got acquainted with poker in 2010. Two years later, he participated in expensive cash games with Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan. In live tournaments, Paul won more than $30M.
The most successful year in his career was 2019: three second places with payouts from $2M, including the best cash - $3,113,429. In 2022, Phua won a WSOP bracelet in the €25K High Roller at the Rozvadov series.
In addition, Malaysians have three more WSOP bracelets:
There’s a large community of ardent poker fans in Malaysia, but the country’s gambling laws are far from relevant. Players can legally play poker live (but only at one casino located at Genting Highlands). All the other ways are not legal.
Still, a compromise solution here is to join a reputable offshore online poker site.
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