00:01Kedah's push to shut down pool betting licenses has hit a dead end.
00:05The federal court on Wednesday dismissed the state government's bid for leave
00:10to appeal a ruling that had quashed its decision to stop issuing
00:14and renewing licenses for pool betting operators in the state.
00:17The three-judge panel, chaired by Justice Datuk Rodzaria Bujang,
00:22alongside Datuk Colin Lawrence Sequeira and Datuk Azmi Arifin,
00:26ordered the state government to pay RM50,000 in costs.
00:31The Kedah state government had sought to overturn a court of appeal decision,
00:35which by a two-to-one majority upheld an earlier high court ruling
00:39favoring the pool betting agents, companies and their principal officers
00:44who challenged the state's directive.
00:46So the practical effect of today's judgment indicates what, officer?
00:51Well, indicate that the decision of the state government of Kedah has been quashed.
00:57They actually banned the renewal of the pool betting license,
01:02premises, the business premises license.
01:05That decision has been quashed.
01:06I'm basically affirming the high court decision still stand.
01:12Subsequent action by your client?
01:13They were applied for the business premises license.
01:19The dispute dates back to November 2021,
01:23when Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Zeri Muhammad Sanusi Noor
01:26announced the state would stop renewing local council licenses for lottery outlets
01:31from January 1, 2023, part of an initiative to curb social ills.
01:36In 2024, high court judge Mahazan Mattaib ruled that the Kedah government
01:41had acted beyond its powers by effectively imposing a ban
01:44that conflicted with federal law.
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