SINGAPORE - New laws which ban internet and telephone gambling in Singapore will not impede the development of the gaming industry, said the Media Development Authority (MDA) on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will table the Remote Gambling Bill for second reading in Parliament on Tuesday, but the International Social Games Association (ISGA), which is a global non-profit trade association, raised concerns last week that some of the Bill's definitions could prove problematic for the industry.

An MDA spokesman said: "... the Bill will not impede the development of legitimate social media gaming businesses... (We are) happy to work with the games industry to clarify how the Bill will be put into operation."

The ISGA had said that companies cannot be assured that their games will not be classified as a form of gambling and therefore subject to criminal sanctions based on this Bill.