Several local councils in Selangor have moved to freeze the license of gambling premises which offer sports betting, in what appears to be a cascading wave of protest against the federal government legislation.

Starting with the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) on Tuesday, the movement appeared to have spread to Selayang yesterday and Ampang Jaya this morning, with both acting to disallow sports betting in their respective jurisdictions.

Speaking to reporters after their full-board meeting, councilor Latheefa Koya said that they acted under Section 101 of the Local Government Act which covers issues concerning health, safety and convenience.

pkr weekly pc 120707 latheefa Latheefa, ( left ) who is also PKR information chief, said that sports betting is detrimental to mental health and turns sports into an unhealthy activity.

According to Selayang councilor Lee Khai Loon, local councils can bar the activity by controlling through the issuance of premise licenses, which stipulates the type of items that can be traded.

"Existing gambling premises like Sports Toto list lotteries as their trading item, not sports betting.

"To add sports betting as a trading item, operators have to apply to the local council and our stand is to reject such applications," he said, adding that the decision was unanimous.

Khai Loon, who is also PKR Youth information chief, added that the council will close down premises reported offering sports betting.

"We have 24 councilors who, with the help of the public ,will act as the eyes and ears for (the Selayang Municipal council)," he warned.

No round-the-clock bets

On top of controlling trading items, Ampang Jaya councilor Lee Shok Jing said that the council, whose vote on the issue was also unanimous, is also using the premise license to limit the trading hours of gambling operators.

"We expect that with the FIFA World Cup, punters will want to place bets around the clock, so we are limiting the trading hours to ensure that this does not happen," she said.

The councils will also not approve license applications for new gambling premises, with all the decisions made regarding sports betting taking immediate effect.

Up north in Kedah - also under Pakatan - state exco for housing and local government Phahrolrazi Zawawi said that no local council in the state has moved to ban sports betting as yet though he pointed out that no new gambling premises licences have been issued since the change of government in 2008.

"But if this becomes a state directive in Selangor then I'm quite certain that we will follow suit," he said.

Penang local government exco Chow Kon Yeow said local councils in the state have yet to make a decision on the ban but will meet next week to discuss it.