The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) intends to update laws regarding gambling to address changes in the gambling landscape, particularly related to technology and the blurring of boundaries between gambling and gaming.
MHA aims to amend the definition of gambling, social gambling, games with gambling elements, and penalties across gambling legislation. Penalties will be based on the existing three-tier structure of the Remote Gambling Act, distinguishing between punters, agents, and operators for all forms of gambling activity.
The Ministry proposes increasing penalties for repeat offenders who facilitate or operate illegal gambling services, including fines of up to $500,000 and seven years of imprisonment for operators of illegal gambling services.
MHA plans to adopt a technology-neutral definition of gambling, similar to jurisdictions like the UK and Australia, to cover existing and emerging gambling products. However, certain areas like financial products regulated by other bodies will be excluded from the definition of gambling.
MHA will explicitly permit physical social gambling among family and friends under the legislation. However, online social gambling among families and friends will not be exempted due to complexities in differentiation.
To address the blurring of boundaries between gambling and gaming, MHA intends to introduce a prize cap of $100 for mystery boxes, arcade games, and claw machines. This measure aims to mitigate the inducement effect of high-value prizes without increasing regulatory burden on operators.
MHA emphasizes that Singapore’s approach to gambling regulation is strict but practical, aiming to maintain law and order and minimize social harm caused by problem gambling. The public can provide feedback on the proposed changes until 10 August.
The Ministry’s review of Singapore’s gambling regulations started 15 months ago, with the intention of updating the law by 2021 to effectively address evolving gambling products and business models. This review was prompted by concerns regarding loot boxes in video games and a reassessment of penalties.
In 2015, the MHA announced measures to block unlicensed websites and clamp down on illegal online gambling operations following the enactment of the Remote Gambling Act in 2014. However, in 2016, state-owned lottery company Singapore Pools became the first operator to launch a legal online betting service in the country.
