Malaysian police say they have arrested 120 people across the country since the start of the World Cup for taking illegal football bets worth 300 million ringgit ($90 million).

The youngest bookmaker arrested was a 15 year old student and the oldest was aged 73, Bakri Zinin, Malaysia police’s head of criminal investigations, told reporters Monday.

Zinin said those arrested include individuals and members of various criminal syndicates.

“They cannot run away. Now we are prepared,” he said.

No charges have yet been filed as investigations are continuing, Bakri said. Running gambling betting rings is punishable by up to five years in jail.

Many of the bookies were running impromptu businesses, taking bets from patrons in coffee shops and late-night restaurants that have set up televisions to screen the World Cup matches, Bakri said. He said some syndicates were offering online bets.

The latest arrests took place on Sunday when police detained four members of a single family who were running a betting ring from their restaurant.

Industry officials estimate illegal sports betting in Malaysia could total 20 billion ringgit ($6.2 billion) every year, with football betting accounting for about 90 percent.

Malaysia bans all forms of gambling for its Muslim majority population. Non-Muslims are allowed to bet on horse races and the lottery, and gamble in a casino that is off-limits for Muslims.

June, 21, 2010