Prize restrictions for amusement centers and fun fairs take effect

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) brought new restrictions on prizes for games offered at amusement centers and fun fairs into effect on 1 March 2024, the Singapore Police Force said¹. The rules cap prize values, bar certain prize types and prohibit operators from buying prizes back from players¹.

The restrictions are: the value of prizes must be under S$100; operators must not offer cash, cash equivalents, credit, merchant vouchers or coupons as prizes; and the sell-back of prizes to operators is prohibited¹. The police said the changes respond to games in amusement machines that increasingly carry elements of chance, alongside high-value prizes such as smartphones and gaming consoles¹.

For amusement centers, the restrictions are imposed as licensing conditions under Public Entertainment Licences, introduced on renewal or issuance of new licenses from 1 March 2023 but taking effect only from 1 March 2024¹. For fun fairs, they are exemption conditions under the Public Entertainments (Exemptions) Order from 1 March 2024, and fun fair operators must meet them to stay exempt from a Public Entertainment license¹. During a transition period from 6 February 2023 to 29 February 2024, the Gambling Control (High-Value Amusement Machines, Exemption) Order temporarily exempted operators from Section 18(1) and other selected provisions of the Gambling Control Act¹. Under Section 18(1), it is an offense for operators to offer prizes worth S$100 or more for games of chance in amusement machines without a gambling license¹.

Penalties differ by route. Under the Public Entertainments Act, operators face fines of up to S$20,000 and may have their public entertainment license suspended or revoked². Under the Gambling Control Act, they may face a fine of up to S$500,000 and a jail term of up to seven years².

MHA notified all operators of the restrictions on 6 February 2023 so they had time to manage existing high-value prize inventory, and issued an advisory in early 2024 encouraging operators to inform customers, including through notices on premises². In a 2020 survey cited by MHA, 70 percent and 68 percent of respondents agreed S$100 was an appropriate limit for mystery boxes and arcade games respectively; of those who disagreed, about 90 percent suggested a lower cap, with a median suggested value of less than S$50². Timezone Singapore's parent company said only a "small" portion of its guests redeem high-value merchandise, while Cow Play Cow Moo declined to comment and Paco Funworld, Zone X and The Wonderful World of Whimsy did not reply to queries³.

What it means for players

For anyone playing arcade games, claw machines or fun fair games in Singapore, the prize on offer must now be worth under S$100, and prizes cannot be cash, cash equivalents, credit, merchant vouchers or coupons¹. Operators can no longer buy prizes back from players, which removes a route by which a prize could be converted into money¹. The rules apply to amusement centers and fun fairs, not to licensed gambling operators; see which gambling operators are licensed in Singapore and whether you can gamble in Singapore for the licensed sector, and arcade prize games and gaming machines outside casinos for how these venues are treated across Asia. The wider legal picture is set out in gambling laws in Asia. Legal betting in Singapore runs through Singapore Pools, covered in football betting with Singapore Pools and how to play 4D.

What happens next

The restrictions took effect on 1 March 2024¹. No further dated steps have been reported.