Details of blind box regulations to be unveiled in mid-2026: Shanmugam
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The regulations aim to mitigate the gambling inducement risk of blind boxes.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
- MHA will share details of blind box regulations around mid-2026 to mitigate gambling inducement risk and prevent consumers from excessive spending.
- Regulations will include trading card packs; age-based restrictions and probability disclosure are also being studied for future implementation.
- Blind boxes contain items from a defined set, unlike mystery boxes which are already disallowed as a form of public lottery.
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SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is expected to share details of upcoming blind box regulations in around mid-2026.
These regulations aim to mitigate the gambling inducement risk of blind boxes, including the potential for such products to induce consumers to spend excessively, said Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.
Additional measures, such as age-based restrictions and probability disclosure, will be considered subsequently, as more time is needed to study them, he said in a written reply to a parliamentary question from Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim (East Coast GRC) on March 2.
Blind boxes refer to sealed packages containing items not made known to the buyer at the point of purchase.
Such packages typically contain collectible toys, figurines and cards. In many instances, the boxes also contain “rare” collectibles that buyers have a lower chance of obtaining.
Mr Shanmugam said on Feb 12 that MHA and the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) had studied the issue of blind boxes and decided to introduce regulations which are currently being drafted.
On Feb 26, MHA confirmed that trading card packs would be regulated as part of the upcoming blind box regulations.
There are currently no laws in Singapore explicitly targeting blind boxes.
Mystery boxes, however, are disallowed, with plans to regulate them via class licences issued by GRA.
Blind boxes typically contain items from a defined set, such as a series of figurines or cards. Mystery boxes contain an unknown range of items that vary broadly.
In 2018, the police told operators of mystery prize vending machines to stop operating them as they were a form of public lottery.
