SINGAPORE: Parliament on Friday (Mar 11) passed a Bill to legalise social gambling as well as criminalise underage and proxy gambling, while prohibiting more vulnerable people from gambling as part of tighter safeguards.
The Gambling Control Bill will increase penalties for unlawful gambling both physically and online, and impose stiffer penalties for repeat offenders who facilitate or operate unlawful gambling services.
It also introduces licensing for key gambling products as well as class licensing regimes for lower-risk gambling products like online games with gambling elements.
Separately, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill will set up the Gambling Regulatory Authority around mid-2022. The authority will regulate the entire gambling landscape in Singapore which is currently overseen by multiple agencies.
SOCIAL GAMBLING
The Gambling Control Bill will specifically provide an exemption regime for physical social gambling among family and friends in homes, something which is not prohibited under current law.
For gambling to be considered social, it must take place in someone’s home and participants have to be from the same family or know each other personally.
The gambling must also not be conducted in the course of any business or for the private gain of someone beyond the game’s winnings.
But MP Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied) questioned what “concrete policy gain” this change provides, since social gambling was not illegal in the first place.
“On one hand, the Government has said in the past that the law can and should reflect social norms and attitudes,” he said.
“As a matter of logical consistency then, should the Government not be cautious about making social gambling explicitly legal, so as to avoid being seen as issuing an official stamp of approval for gambling?”
In response, Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan said the exemption will regularise the current practice and provide clarity to the public that social gambling is allowed when it is with family and friends, including minors, at home.
“Social gambling will only be allowed in a person’s home, and will not be allowed in places like hotels and chalets,” he said, stressing that the exemption does not change the Government’s approach towards gambling but instead acts as a social safeguard.
“Individuals should exercise personal responsibility in deciding whether to allow underaged individuals to engage in such activities.”
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/gambling-social-legalise-underage-parliament-2557941
