Betting and Sweepstake Duties Act repealed

Singapore's Gambling Duties Act 2022 came into force on 29 July 2022, except for section 43, according to commencement notices published with the Act¹. The Act repeals the Betting and Sweepstake Duties Act and consolidates the law on the levy and collection of duties on lawful betting and lotteries¹. It was passed by Parliament on 10 January 2022 and assented to by President Halimah Yacob on 8 February 2022¹.

Sections 46 and 52(1) and (12) to (14) had already commenced on 1 March 2022 under S 142/2022, a commencement notice issued by the Ministry of Finance¹. The remaining provisions, apart from section 43, commenced on 29 July 2022 under S 469/2022¹. Section 43, on confidentiality, was never commenced and is repealed by section 49 of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Act 2022¹.

The Act states its purpose in its own terms:

Liability for the duty falls on the operator rather than the customer. Duty on betting is payable by the authorized betting operator, duty on a lottery by the authorized lottery promoter, duty on keeping a gaming machine in non-casino premises by the person keeping it, and duty on a gaming service by the authorized person providing it¹. Where more than one person is liable, they are jointly and severally liable¹. The Act also provides that goods and services tax charged on the receipt, negotiation or settlement of a bet, the supply of a lottery, the operation of a gaming machine or the provision of a gaming service must be disregarded¹. No gambling duty is payable on revenue from any gaming machine whose use or keeping contravenes any written law¹.

The Act sets penalty tax for late payment. An amount of 5% of the unpaid duty applies, with a further 5% and then a further 5% for every complete month the duty remains unpaid, capped at 50% of the outstanding duty¹. The trigger point is the end of 15 days after a liability notice or valid demand is given to the taxable person¹. Assessments or reassessments generally cannot be made more than 5 years after the end of the period concerned, but the Commissioner may assess or reassess at any time to make good a loss of duty attributable to fraud or wilful default¹. An appeal must be made no later than 14 days after the liability notice containing the assessment or reassessment was given¹.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore administers the Act, and the Minister must appoint a Commissioner of Gambling Duties from among officers of the IRAS². The Act also provides for the IRAS to share information with officers of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore². The Act's text refers to the Gambling Duties Regulations 2022 (S 627/2022) for the tax rates of gambling duties¹; the rates themselves are not set out in the Act.

What it means for players

The duty is charged to operators, not to punters, so the Act does not create a new tax that players pay directly at the counter or on a bet slip¹. What changes for players is indirect: the operators who hold the licenses, run the lotteries, keep the gaming machines and provide gaming services are the ones assessed, and the rates applied to them are set in separate regulations rather than in the Act itself¹. The Act's stated aim is that the public obtains reasonable net benefits from lawful gambling, which frames the duty as a revenue measure on licensed activity rather than a restriction on who may play¹. Bets placed through an authorized betting operator, including free bets and bets made using a totalisator, fall within the Act's definition of betting¹. Revenue from a gaming machine used or kept in contravention of any written law carries no duty, which concerns unlawful machines rather than licensed ones¹.

What happens next

No further commencement dates are listed for the Act beyond 1 March 2022 and 29 July 2022¹. Section 43 is repealed by section 49 of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Act 2022¹. The tax rates of gambling duties are set out in the Gambling Duties Regulations 2022 (S 627/2022)¹. No date has been reported for any change to those rates.

For background on how this fits with other jurisdictions, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions and Recent and Pending Gambling Law Changes in Asia. For the local picture, see Can I Gamble in Singapore?.