Singapore to ban remote gambling
Second minister for home affairs S Iswaran confirms proposals in bid to combat illegality and problem gambling
Singapore has proposed a ban on all forms of remote gambling after claiming it poses several areas of concern to it citizens.
The sovereign city state’s second minister for home affairs S Isawaran confirmed the proposals at the Singapore Symposium on Casino Regulation and Crime, condemning online gambling’s propensity for illegality and syndicated crime.
Singapore’s gambling regulation predates online gaming, and Isawaran lamented the current lack of jurisdiction it has over online operators and the types of games they can provide.
“It is therefore important that we take proactive steps to address these concerns,” he added.
Isawaran was also critical of the ease of gambling availability through the internet and mobile devices, and cited a 2011 survey by the National Council for Problem Gambling that attested online gamblers to be more prone to addiction and problem behaviour.
The Singaporean government now intends to update its current laws “ which prohibit gambling unless through specific exemptions “ to include remote gambling and empower the state’s authorities to take action against both operators and service providers.
Prohibitive measures are set to include IP blocking and the prevention of online transactions to gaming websites, while advertisements will also be banned under the new regulation.
“While such measures may not be fool proof, they will impede access to remote gambling platforms and send a clear signal of the regulatory stance in Singapore,” Isawaran said.
The announcement comes just a month after Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK Gambling Commission to pool information and collaborate in order to strengthen regulatory frameworks, expanding on its previous agreement with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
British newspaper The Telegraph today reported a Singaporean match fixer claimed to be capable of fixing English football matches for clients to bet on using Asian-based betting websites, two months after alleged match-fixing ring-leader Dan Tan was arrested in Singapore.