Singapore's Parliament passed the Gambling Duties Act 2022 on 10 January 2022, and the President assented to it on 8 February 20221. The Act was published in the Acts Supplement on 16 February 2022 as No. 1 of 20221.
The Act is described in its long title as "An Act to consolidate the law on levy and collection of duties on lawful betting and lotteries and to make related amendments to the Casino Control Act regarding casino taxes and casino licenses, to repeal the Betting and Sweepstake Duties Act, and to make consequential amendments to certain other Acts"1. It establishes a Commissioner of Gambling Duties, appointed under section 32, and sets out who is liable to pay gambling duty: authorized betting operators on betting they receive, pay, negotiate or settle; authorized lottery promoters on lotteries they promote; the person keeping a gaming machine in non-casino premises; and authorized persons providing a gaming service in the course of a relevant business2.
The Act's stated purpose is that "the public in Singapore obtains reasonable net benefits from the lawful conduct of gambling in Singapore"2. Its definitions are broad. "Betting" covers bets on the outcome of a race, competition, sporting event or other event or process, the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring, or whether anything is or is not true, and includes free bets and bets made using a totalisator1. "Money's worth" includes virtual credits, virtual coins, virtual tokens and virtual objects purchased within, as part of, or in relation to a game of chance1. A "game of chance" includes a game that is partly chance and partly skill1. A lottery is covered whether it is held, drawn, exercised or managed wholly in Singapore or partly inside and partly outside it3.
The Act sets penalty tax for default at 5% of the unpaid duty, with a further 5% and then 5% for every complete month the duty remains unpaid, capped at 50% of the amount outstanding2. Assessments or reassessments generally cannot be made more than 5 years after the end of the period in question, but the Commissioner may assess at any time to recover loss from fraud or wilful default2.
| Provision | Commencement date |
|---|---|
| Sections 46 and 52(1), (12), (13) and (14) | 1 March 20221 |
| Sections 2 to 45, 47 to 51 and 52(2) to (11) | 29 July 20221 |
One source records the second commencement as covering the Act "Except s. 43"2. Section 43, on confidentiality, was not commenced and was repealed by section 49 of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Act 20222.
"For the purpose of ensuring that the public in Singapore obtains reasonable net benefits from the lawful conduct of gambling in Singapore, a tax called a gambling duty is charged in accordance with the provisions of this Act"
What it means for players
The Act taxes operators, promoters and gaming machine keepers, not individual punters. Duty is charged on the taxable gambling undertaking, and the amount is worked out by applying the prescribed rate2. The rates themselves are not set out in the Act; a separate instrument, the Gambling Duties Regulations 2022 (S 627/2022), sets the tax rates2. Those rates are not stated in the sources here.
The definitions matter for anyone gambling in Singapore because they determine what falls inside the duty net. Free bets count as bets, so a promotional wager is treated the same as a cash one for duty purposes1. Virtual credits, coins, tokens and objects bought in or around a game of chance count as money's worth1. Games mixing chance and skill are treated as games of chance1. Lotteries run partly outside Singapore are still covered3. Casino license holders are excluded from the Act's betting operator and authorized person definitions where the activity is covered by their casino license, and casino taxes and licenses are instead dealt with through the related amendments to the Casino Control Act1. No gambling duty is payable on revenue from a gaming machine whose use or keeping contravenes any written law2.
What happens next
Both commencement dates have passed: 1 March 2022 for the casino-related amendments and saving provisions, and 29 July 2022 for the bulk of the Act1. The Act has since been amended by Act 14 of 20223. No further commencement steps are recorded in the sources.
For the wider regional picture, see Recent and Pending Gambling Law Changes in Asia and Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions. For Singapore specifically, see Can I Gamble in Singapore?.
Sources3 sources
- Gambling Duties Act 2022 - Singapore Statutes Online, sso.agc.gov.sg
- Gambling Duties Act 2022 - Wikisource, the free online library, en.wikisource.org
- Gambling Duties Act 2022 - Singapore Statutes Online, sso.agc.gov.sg
