What does Singapore law say about online gambling?

Experts share bits of advice to give it teeth.

Singapore’s parliament has passed amendments to its Casino Control Act but there was no single provision dealing with online casinos. The government however notes that plans to review the regulatory frame work and social safeguards concerning non-casino gambling, including gambling online are already in place.

Singapore Business Review sought legal experts’ view on Singapore’s progress in governing online gambling in Singapore. Along the interview, experts also shared some suggestions on how the city-state improve the regulatory framework while taking it in mind the experiences of other countries.

Experts providing comments are S Suressh, Aviation and Shipping Practice Group and also a Partner in the Firm’s Civil and Commercial Litigation Practice Group; and Yap Wai Ming, Partner in Stamford Law Corp.

a. What is the current stand of Singapore on online gambling?

Suressh:  The Police have from time to time made statements to the effect that online gaming is illegal. However, in 2010 The Law Reform Committee expressed reservations as to whether the present legislation covers the scenario of an individual from private premises accessing via the internet an online gaming site with its server outside Singapore.

Yap: Currently, online gambling is not regulated in Singapore. The government has not published any statement yet regarding whether it will regulate this sector although there is a law reform committee recommendation paper that called for some form of regulation along the established gaming jurisdictions like in the USA for a complete outlaw of online gaming or the Australian model of a licensing model but with restricted access to Singapore based players

b. What are the current Singapore laws governing online gambling in Singapore?

Suressh:The principle statutes governing gambling are the Betting Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act. They were drafted before the internet age and do not expressly deal with the issue of online gaming. It is thus a question of whether the language of the statutes can be stretched to cover online gaming. It is not clear that it can be. There are also practical issues in taking enforcement action in respect of overseas gambling sites. The Betting Act and Common Gaming Houses Act are basically prohibitive and do not attempt to regulate gambling

Yap: There are no specific online gambling laws in Singapore. We are still relying on archaic laws that we have concerning prohibition of physical common gaming houses in Singapore. Some recent cases have extended such laws to cover internet café that undertook online gambling activities that are conducted at a common physical location. Academic views are divided on this area and the general view is that online gambling is not unlawful if it is carried out at the comfort of one’s home without all gambler being physically gathered at one common location. The laws have yet to be updated which is long overdue. Despite the lack of clarity on such laws, the Singapore stock exchange has approved the listing of an Australian online casino without any issue from the Gambling Suppression Unit of the police department.

C. What legislation do you suggest to regulate online gambling in Singapore?

Surressh: Singapore should consider regulating online gambling. The object of such regulation would be to :
i. protect vulnerable people, e.g. juveniles, problem gamblers and gambling addicts
ii. ensure that there is no penetration of the industry by criminal elements
iii. ensure that the gaming process is fair.

There is also the added incentive of being able to tax such activities and thereby obtain revenue that can be applied for the public good.
Experience in other countries, e.g. Australia, suggests banning on line gambling does not work. Gamblers just access overseas gambling sites, which may or may not be regulated. Once we adopt a blocking approach, we have no means of ensuring that the sites carry our proper age verification. Nothing can be done about identifying or tracking problem gamblers, and so interventions to assist them will not be possible. Any attempts to block access to websites will invariably be bypassed. And if it is made illegal for Singaporeans to assess these websites, it will ensure that those who do need help will be further discouraged from coming forward, driving the problem underground.

Yap: online gambling should be regulated along the lines of the Australian model but with the government holding the sole monopoly over the online gambling licence. This is similar to the sports betting and lotteries where the Singapore government has the sole monopoly on these gambling activities while outlawing all other forms of gambling. This way, there are better controls over the quality of the licensed online casino and that gamblers can be better monitored to ensure that the problem gambling issues could be managed.