YANGON, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities permanently deactivated 143,409 SIM cards suspected of being linked to online gambling, the state-owned daily The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday.
The SIM cards were permanently canceled between March 2025 and May 2026 after they were found sending large volumes of identical messages linked to online gambling, the report said.
The authorities also shut down 1,120 SIM cards used to operate illegal financial accounts connected to gambling activities and permanently closed more than 1,000 mobile wallet accounts linked to online gambling operations, the report said.
In addition, authorities blocked access to 102 gambling websites and applications in Myanmar through IP restrictions between January 2025 and April 2026 and also initiated legal action against actors, social media influencers, and others involved in promoting online slot game advertisements, according to the report. ■
