Gambling Laws in Singapore

What gambling is legal in Singapore

Singapore keeps gambling on a short leash. The legalized forms are social gambling at home, betting with Singapore Pools, casino gambling at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, and jackpot machine rooms at private clubs⁸. Everything outside that list is prohibited unless it holds a license or falls under a specific exemption⁹.

That structure matters for visitors and expats, because it is very different from the free-market approach of places like Macau or the Philippines. There is no licensed online casino sector, no betting shops beyond the Singapore Pools network, and no legal bookie on the corner. If someone offers you a bet and they are not Singapore Pools, one of the two casinos, or a members' club jackpot room, the offer itself is against the law.

The rules apply to everyone physically in Singapore, citizen, permanent resident, foreign resident or tourist. The main place the rules differ by status is the casino entry levy, which only citizens and permanent residents pay, covered below.

For the wider picture of what the scene looks like in practice, see gambling in Singapore.

The two casinos: entry levy, age 21 and what citizens pay

Singapore allows exactly two casinos, both inside integrated resorts: Marina Bay Sands on the waterfront and Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa island². There is a legal cap of two casinos in the Casino Control Act, so no third venue can open without Parliament changing the law.

The rule that surprises most locals and long-term residents is the entry levy. Singapore citizens and permanent residents must pay S$150 for every consecutive 24-hour period of casino entry, or S$3,000 for an annual membership¹. The levy is a deliberate deterrent, designed to make casual local visits expensive. Foreigners, including expats on employment passes and tourists, pay nothing and simply walk in with a passport.

The minimum age for entry into the casinos is 21, for everyone⁴. A person below 21 is a "minor" under the Casino Control Act, and minors must not enter casino premises at all². Staff can require proof of age at the door, so carry ID.

Other practical points from the casino rules:

• Automatic teller machines are prohibited within casino premises, so you cannot pull cash at the tables; plan your money before you go in².
• A citizen or PR who enters without paying the levy commits an offense: a fine of up to S$1,500, plus the levy amount itself¹.
• Family members of problem gamblers can ask casino staff to refuse entry to someone, and there are formal exclusion orders on top of that, covered later in this page⁸.

If you want the day-to-day detail of either venue, the games, dress and getting there, see casinos in Singapore and the dedicated casino entry levy page.

Singapore Pools betting and minimum ages

Singapore Pools is the only legal lottery and sports betting operator in the country¹⁰. Its network of outlets sells TOTO, 4D and Singapore Sweep tickets and takes sports and horse racing bets. There is no legal alternative, so any other lottery seller or sportsbook you come across, in person or online, is operating unlawfully.

The ages are split by channel:

So an 18-year-old can walk into a branch and buy a TOTO ticket, but cannot open the online account or sit in a Livewire venue. Singapore Pools does not accept bets from, or pay prizes to, anyone under the age limit, including prize claims, so an underage friend cannot collect on your behalf either³.

A few practical facts about the products themselves:

• Online sports bets with Singapore Pools have a minimum stake of S$1¹¹.
• Prizes of S$20,000 or less can be claimed at betting outlets for all products¹⁰.
• The games are deliberately designed with low minimum bets and modest first-prize tiers compared with international lotteries, part of the operator's safer-play commitments³.

For how to open the account and what you can bet on, see the Singapore Pools account and sports betting in Singapore pages.

Home games with family and friends

Physical social gambling among family and friends is permitted in Singapore, but only within a set of conditions written into the Gambling Control Act 2022⁷. A home poker night or mahjong session is legal when all of the following hold:

• The players are family members, or people who know each other personally⁷.
• The game takes place in person, in an individual's home⁷.
• The activity is substantially spontaneous, not an organized or regular commercial arrangement¹².
• Nobody profits except by winning: no rake, no commission, no fee, no cut for a non-player, and nothing run in the course of a business⁷.

Break any of those and the game stops being "social gambling" and becomes unlawful gambling. The most common trip-ups are charging for drinks or a seat, hosting a game for people the host does not actually know, or running a weekly game that is really a business.

Two hard limits are worth stating plainly. First, gambling in any public place is illegal, even among family and friends, so the same mahjong game that is fine in a living room is an offense at a void deck or coffee shop⁷. Second, social gambling is not permitted on online platforms: a Zoom poker night or a private group chat betting pool is outside the exemption, because the law only exempts gambling that happens physically, in a home⁷.

For more on the games people actually play at home, see social gambling and home mahjong in Singapore and ban luck.

Online gambling: the exempt operators and everyone else

Online gambling in Singapore is a simple two-part picture. The Remote Gambling Act 2014 prohibits remote gambling activities across the board and criminalizes the entire spectrum, from the individual gambler up to the people who facilitate or provide the services¹³. Against that blanket ban, two operators were found suitable to be exempt: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club¹⁴. The Singapore Turf Club held its final race meeting on October 5, 2024 and ceased operations that year, so Singapore Pools is now the only exempt operator taking bets¹.

In practice this means:

• You can bet online only through Singapore Pools, only with a betting account, and only if you are at least 21³.
• Every other online casino, poker site, sportsbook and lottery site, including all the internationally licensed names, is unlawful remote gambling for anyone in Singapore⁶.
• An individual who gambles remotely using a service that is not an exempt operator commits an offense⁶.

The penalty for the individual player is a fine of up to S$5,000, or imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both⁶. That applies to casino games, poker, sports betting with an offshore bookie, and any other remote wager. The Act also reaches gambling services based outside Singapore when the person betting is physically in Singapore, so "the site is licensed in Europe" is not a defense here⁵.

The practical takeaway for expats used to betting online at home: that habit does not transfer to Singapore. The lawful online options are the Singapore Pools account products, and nothing else. See online gambling in Singapore and online betting sites in Singapore for the detail.

What players actually risk: fines and jail terms by offense

This is the part most people ask about: what happens to me? The penalties for individual players, as opposed to operators, are set out below. They apply to everyone in Singapore regardless of nationality.

Two things stand out. First, the offense of gambling with an unlicensed provider is arrestable, meaning police do not need a warrant¹². Second, the "unlawful gambling place" offense covers simply being found on the premises, even mid-game and even if you have not placed a bet yet⁵. Raids on illegal dens and bookie operations regularly sweep up customers on that basis.

Note that the Gambling Control Act's player offenses do not apply inside the two casinos, which are governed by the Casino Control Act instead, and do not apply to social gambling, which is exempt¹².

Underage gambling and false evidence of age

The general minimum age for gambling in Singapore is 21, with one carve-out: gambling at Singapore Pools' physical outlets is set at 18¹⁵. So the age line depends on where you are playing:

• Casinos: 21 for entry, for everyone⁴.
• Singapore Pools outlets and retailers: 18³.
• Livewire betting centers and online betting accounts: 21³.

It is a criminal offense for an underaged individual to gamble in or from Singapore, regardless of whether the operator itself is legal or illegal⁵. An underaged person who enters a gambling venue during restricted hours also commits an offense⁵. The fine for underage gambling is up to S$1,500, and an underaged individual cannot be imprisoned for failing to pay that fine⁵.

False ID is treated much more seriously than the gambling itself. An underaged individual who uses false evidence of age to gamble, to enter an approved gambling venue, or to open or reopen a remote gambling account commits an offense carrying a fine of up to S$10,000⁵. At the casinos, a minor who uses false evidence of age to get in or stay in faces a fine of up to S$10,000 as well². A borrowed older sibling's IC at a casino door is therefore a far bigger problem than being turned away would have been.

Exclusion orders, self-exclusion and visit limits

Singapore runs a formal exclusion system administered through the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). Exclusions ban individuals from one or more of the three main gambling channels: the two casinos, jackpot machine rooms at private clubs, and Singapore Pools online betting¹⁶. There are several routes in:

• Self-exclusion. You apply to exclude yourself, from all casino premises, all gaming machine rooms, all general remote gambling, or any combination¹⁷. Once in force, it blocks you from the casinos, private club jackpot rooms and Singapore Pools online betting¹⁹. Organizations with a Corppass account can also file group self-exclusion applications for employees or members, with the individual's consent¹⁷. If you are excluding yourself from a Singapore Pools or Turf Club betting account, you must not access the account to gamble from the date of application²⁰.
• Family exclusion. A family member can apply to exclude someone whose gambling has caused serious harm to the family, covering the same three channels¹⁹.
• Third-party exclusion. The NCPG can impose these without any application, banning or limiting casino visits for people with a poor credit record or who are vulnerable to financial harm from their gambling²¹.

Exclusions are backed by criminal penalties. An excluded person must not gamble in or from Singapore in breach of any ban that applies to them, and a breach can mean up to 12 months in prison⁵. At the casinos specifically, a casino-excluded person who enters or remains on casino premises, or takes part in casino gambling, is guilty of an offense, though a person excluded only by their own self-exclusion or a voluntary visit limit is treated differently¹⁸. Breach of a Family Visit Limit for casinos was criminalized in the 2024 amendments, for parity with the other orders²¹.

On the operator side, licensees must bar excluded persons from gambling, may remove them from premises, and may refuse to pay winnings to an excluded person or an underaged individual¹². So an excluded person who slips through and wins has no claim to the money.

If gambling is causing harm, the NCPG services are the place to start, and the Gambling Regulatory Authority takes questions at (+65) 6501 7000⁴. See casino exclusion and visit limits in Singapore and gambling help in Singapore for the process step by step.