Tighter rules are on the cards to restrict remote gambling in Singapore

Hedge your bets as new curbs roll out.

Singapore will be launching a public consultation exercise through REACH and will seek the views of various stakeholders in an effort to formulate the regulatory framework to restrict remote gambling.

This was revealed by S Iswaran, Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry at the 3rd Singapore Symposium on Casino Regulation and Crime.

He said, to divert gambling away from unauthorised and unregulated operators, some jurisdictions like Hong Kong have allowed a limited form of remote gambling through a strictly regulated authorised entity.

"Our agencies will carefully consider provisions for a similar tightly controlled exemption in Singapore, with constraints on the type of operator and stringent social safeguards," he said on Thursday.

The government intends to restrict remote gambling by making it illegal unless there are specific exemptions. New laws will be introduced to give enforcement agencies the powers to act against facilitators, intermediaries and providers of remote gambling services.

He also noted, "we will introduce measures to block access to gambling websites, block payments to remote gambling operators, and prohibit advertisements promoting remote gambling. While such measures may not be foolproof, they will impede access to remote gambling platforms and send a clear signal of the regulatory stance in Singapore.

"Remote gambling is one such evolving trend. The revenue of the global remote gambling industry in 2012 was estimated at US$35b, with an expected annual growth rate of about 9%. This is about five times the expected growth for conventional terrestrial gambling," he added.