Singapore will comprehensively reform gambling regulators in 2021
Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of Singapore announced that it will amend its gambling regulations. According to the country’s plan, a new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) will be established in 2021. It is expected that different regulatory agencies will be integrated within the same framework. This change will be implemented next year, the purpose is to reset the current Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), and Gambling Regulatory Unit functions, merged into the new unit. It is understood that in addition to the scope and authority of the GRA, the regulatory body will also assume the functions of the Singapore Totalisator Board and the Singapore Police Force – responsible gaming measures will be performed under the supervision of the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
The news was announced by the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs, which maintains a positive view of the country ’s gambling industry prospects and the results achieved so far. In particular, it pointed out that between 2011 and 2019, only 1% of crimes in the country came from gambling activities, while illegal gambling decreased by 28%. The MHA also further explained the motivation for this reform. It pointed out that the new technology makes the gambling experience more accessible and brings new challenges to the regulatory authorities. It particularly emphasizes that the fact is that many traditional products have developed to the point where betting can be provided, even if they are not traditional gambling products. The areas that GRA will focus on include: e-sports and virtual draws video games.
In light of these changes, MHA hopes that GRA will help consolidate the country ’s regulatory footprint and simplify regulation by pooling all resources in the same institution and coordinating gambling policies. MHA hopes to continue to ban gambling activities and continue to act as a regulator that tries to eliminate consumer risks. Since 2015, MHA has been working hard to combat illegal online gambling. With the “Remote Gambling Act” that came into effect in 2014, the volume of related operations has also increased.
In the planned reformation of gambling regulation, Singapore had temporarily closed the physical casino from April 7, 2020 to stop the spread of the Covid-19. At present, the measure is expected to continue to be implemented until May 4. Marina Bay Sands Casino, Las Vegas Sands and Resorts World Sentosa have all ceased operations in compliance with the regulations. So far, the number of confirmed cases in Singapore has exceeded 10,000. Under the new measures, the country will try to restrict all non-essential services. In addition, the government issued a USD33 billion bailout plan due to the economic recession caused by the pandemic.
