Malaysia plans to revamp its archaic gambling laws to impose harsher penalties on illegal online gambling operators.

For years, Malaysian officials have complained that the country’s gambling laws needed a refresh to tackle new technological developments, including online gambling. On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters he would raise the issue at this Friday’s meeting with cabinet ministers.

Zahid noted that the country’s various gambling laws were introduced long before the advent of the internet. Zahid said he would propose the establishment of a parliamentary caucus, which he himself would chair, to “look at each act to tackle the problem” of illegal gambling, particularly the online type.

Malaysia has been waging a long-running war with internet café operators who offer access to computers that connect to internationally licensed online gambling sites. Zahid said these operators were continually coming up with “different modus operandi, including abusing entertainment licenses by modifying their equipment and devices for online gambling.”