Gambling Control Act 2022 repeals four earlier gambling statutes

Singapore's Gambling Control Act 2022, numbered No. 15 of 2022, was passed by Parliament on 11 March 2022 and assented to by President Halimah Yacob on 25 March 2022¹. It was first published in the Government Gazette on 4 April 2022².

The Act 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 amendments to the Casino Control Act 2006 and other Acts¹. Its stated purposes are set out in section 2:

The same section lists further purposes: prohibiting advertising of unlawful gambling, minimizing social harm including problem gambling, ensuring integrity and fairness and banning irresponsible gambling products and practices, and limiting opportunities for crime or dishonesty associated with gambling².

The Act establishes the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore, described in the text as the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore continued and renamed under the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Act 2022¹. It creates a licensing regime for gambling services outside casinos, including class licenses for lower-risk services, plus separate approval requirements for gambling venues, games and gaming machines¹. Offenses include unlawful conduct of betting operations, gaming or lotteries, gambling with an unlicensed provider or at an unlawful gambling place, and being in an unlawful gambling place¹. Part 9 provides for blocking access to online remote gambling services and blocking payment transactions¹.

Commencement was staged. Sections 137(1) and (2) took effect on 1 June 2022, while Parts 1 to 12, sections 136, 137(3), 138, 139 and 140, and the First and Second Schedules commenced on 1 August 2022¹. The Act has since been amended several times, including by Act 15 of 2023, Act 31 of 2023, Act 16 of 2024 and Act 29 of 2024⁴.

What it means for players

Gambling in Singapore outside the two casinos is now governed by one statute rather than four. Activities that fall outside the licensing and approval framework are unlawful gambling, and the Act sets out offenses covering players as well as operators, including gambling with an unlicensed provider or at an unlawful gambling place¹. Harm minimization provisions require licensees to bar excluded persons, allow removal or detention of excluded persons, and permit refusal to pay winnings to underaged individuals or excluded persons³. Advertising of unlawful gambling is prohibited². For remote gambling, the Act provides for blocking of access to online services and blocking of payment transactions³. The Act does not cover casino gambling, which remains under the Casino Control Act 2006, though that Act was amended by this legislation¹.

What happens next

The Act is in force and has been amended since commencement, most recently by Act 29 of 2024⁴. No further commencement dates are listed in the sources beyond 1 June 2022 and 1 August 2022¹.