Parliament passes Gambling Control Act 2022

Singapore's Parliament passed the Gambling Control Act 2022 on 11 March 2022, and President Halimah Yacob assented to it on 25 March 2022¹. The Act was published in the Government Gazette, Electronic Edition, on 4 April 2022 at 5 pm¹. It is numbered No. 15 of 2022¹.

The Act consolidates the law on the suppression of unlawful gambling and the regulation of authorized gambling services outside casinos¹. It repeals the Betting Act 1960, the Common Gaming Houses Act 1961, the Private Lotteries Act 2011 and the Remote Gambling Act 2014, and makes related and consequential amendments to the Casino Control Act 2006 and certain other Acts¹.

The Act defines "gambling" as betting, engaging in gaming activity, or participating in a lottery¹. It creates offenses covering unlawful betting operations, gaming and lotteries, unlawful gambling places, gaming machines, and gambling involving underaged individuals and excluded persons². It also provides for class licenses for lower-risk gambling services, gambling venue and game approvals, entry bans, and the blocking of access to online remote gambling services and of payment transactions².

The "Authority" under the Act is the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore, described as the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore continued and renamed under the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Act 2022¹.

What it means for players

The Act draws a line between authorized gambling and everything it defines as unlawful gambling, and it covers betting, gaming activity and lotteries¹. It creates offenses for gambling with an unlicensed gambling service provider or at an unlawful gambling place, and for being in an unlawful gambling place². It also provides that a licensee may refuse to pay winnings to an underaged individual or an excluded person, and that licensees must bar excluded persons from gambling². Advertising unlawful gambling is prohibited¹. The Act also contains special provisions for remote gambling, including the blocking of access to online remote gambling services and the blocking of payment transactions². The text does not set out penalty amounts, and those have not been reported here.

What happens next

The Act states that it comes into operation on a date the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette¹. The published commencement dates are 1 June 2022 for sections 137(1) and (2), and 1 August 2022 for Parts 1 to 12, sections 136, 137(3), 138, 139, 140, and the First and Second Schedules². The Act has since been amended, including by Act 15 of 2023, Act 31 of 2023, Act 16 of 2024 and Act 29 of 2024².

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?, Which Gambling Operators Are Licensed in Singapore?, Can I Bet on Sports in Singapore?, Can I Play at Online Casinos in Singapore?, Gambling Help and Self-Exclusion in Singapore and A Short History of Gambling in Singapore.