A new bill was put forward today in Parliament with the aim of clamping down on remote gambling such as that which can be done over the phone, online, or any other communication platform.
Currently, such remote gambling is unregulated and therefore not taxed or restricted.
The new bill, called the Remote Gambling Bill proposes to make it possible for authorities in Singapore to clamp down on the gambling activities as long as some part of the service occurs in Singapore.
This means that even if the operator is overseas, Singapore authorities can regulate the end user or the middle man if they are in Singapore.
If the bill is passed, authorities here will be allowed to block access to such websites or even block payments to those services.
The bill also broadly defines what constitutes remote gambling websites as those which "provide, facilitate or advertise remote gambling".
The bill also includes certain exceptions for Singapore based, non-profit organisations which may conduct some gambling activities but contributes those back to a charitable cause in Singapore.
Organisations that fall into this exception will be strictly regulated and ensure responsible gambling, and compliance with the law.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, which put forward the bill, explained that they have conducted several public consultation exercises and studied the systems in other countries in order to come up with the bill.
It is expected that if the law does come into effect, it will have the effect of pushing more business to authorised outlets such as Singapore Pools and the Turf Club.
These two organisations will probably also apply for exemption so that they can continue taking bets over the phone.
If passed, the bill will be useful to curb online gambling which has been shown to be more addictive with people more likely to spend more than intended than traditional gambling.