Singapore Pools and Turf Club get nod to launch online betting

Singapore

THE government has given the green light to Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club (STC) to offer punters the option of placing their lottery or sports bets online.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that it had deemed both local operators suitable for exemption from the Remote Gambling Act (RGA), a law that entered into force in February last year and bans all online and phone gambling; the exemption will last three years.

Singapore Pools will launch its web-based betting platform on Oct 25, while STC will introduce its online portal and a new mobile app on Nov 15. STC had been the first to apply for an exemption certificate in May 2015; Singapore Pools followed suit two months later. Both underwent a lengthy and rigorous process of checks and assessment by the authorities.

In a statement, MHA said it had granted the exemption certificates only after the two operators agreed to meet a stringent set of conditions.

All those who sign up to bet online must be at least 21 years old. There is no gambling on credit, and the exemption is only meant for the operators' existing products.

Punters can place bets for 4D, Toto, football and F1 at Singapore Pools, and for horse-racing at STC. The MHA said casino-style games or poker are not allowed. Punters must set a pre-determined daily limit for two things: the amount they deposit into their accounts, and the amount they are willing to wager.

Advertisements or promotional activities that encourage people to engage in remote gambling are forbidden.

MHA added: "(Singapore Pools and STC) have to keep their management and operations of the remote gambling services free from criminal influence, ensure integrity of their operations and implement social safeguards and responsible gambling measures." If these conditions are breached, the operators could be fined up to S$1 million for each instance and have their exemption status revoked.

The global market for remote gambling is estimated to be worth about US$40 billion a year, and growing at a rate of between 6 and 8 per cent each year.

The ministry stressed that Singapore is not immune from these global trends, especially with the country's high Internet and smartphone penetration rates. It noted that remote gambling operations are lucrative, and have the potential to become a source of funds or conduits for money-laundering. It is also associated with unlicensed money-lending, secret-society activities and trans-national syndicates.

During the recent Euro 2016 football tournament in June and July, Singapore police arrested 39 suspects who dealt with S$2.5 million in bets and are believed to have trans-national links.

The laws now provide a general prohibition of remote gambling activities. To date, several hundred websites have been blocked, along with bank accounts and payments linked to remote gambling services.

The MHA said that even with a robust enforcement and tight blocking measures, it is not possible to eradicate unauthorised remote gambling in Singapore.

However, it is not in favour of a complete ban, as such a move would "drive remote gambling activities underground and exacerbate law and order concerns".

It said that the exempt operator regime would complement enforcement actions and blocking measures under the RGA.

"This is consistent with our existing approach in the terrestrial gambling environment - gambling activities are criminalised and a tightly controlled valve is allowed as part of the eco-system to minimise law-and-order concerns," it said.

The announcement to exempt the two operators came two days after the Workers' Party urged the government to reject any applications for exemptions and to operate remote and online betting services.

An online petition against making online gambling legal in Singapore is also gaining traction on social media, with over 12,000 signatures to date and counting.