Social gambling to be legalised under proposed new laws

Physical social gambling among family and friends may soon be legalised under new laws proposed in Parliament yesterday.

While not currently illegal, social gambling is not clearly defined in current laws. If passed, newly proposed laws will set clear parameters for what is acceptable.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill and the Gambling Control Bill were read in Parliament for the first time yesterday.

The Bills set out clearer regulations for gambling, including the newer forms brought about by technology such as loot boxes in video games and mystery boxes.

If passed, the Bills will see the setting up of the new Gambling Regulation Authority (GRA), which will regulate the entire gambling landscape in Singapore.

A key change under the new Bills is the legalisation of physical social gambling among family and friends, without any age limit.

Among the conditions are that participants must be members of the same family or friends, the gambling cannot be conducted in the course of any business and it must take place in an individual's home.

Online social gambling, however, continues to be prohibited.

Another key proposed change is the introduction of licensing regimes for gambling products.

The GRA will take over regulation from the different agencies for key products such as fruit machines, gambling in private establishments and Singapore Pools products via a licensing framework.

The GRA will also introduce licensing for lower-risk products such as mystery boxes, online games with gambling elements and lucky draws. This is to ensure such products do not induce gambling behaviour and cause social problems.

Several new offences will be introduced in the new Bills, including those relating to underage gambling and those who have been excluded from gambling.

Operators found to have allowed underage or excluded individuals to gamble will be liable for an offence or disciplinary action.

The minimum age to gamble will be set at 21, with the exception of Singapore Pools, which has a minimum age of 18 for its products and outlets.

A new offence of proxy gambling will be introduced, to criminalise gambling through someone else.

The new Bills also propose a three-tiered penalty framework to deal with offenders according to their culpability. Operators will be deemed as having the highest culpability, followed by their agents and then the punters.

Mandatory imprisonment has been proposed for operators and agents for both physical and online gambling.

On the advertising and promotion front, a consistent threshold will be applied for both online and physical gambling, with the offences for both types treated the same.

In a release yesterday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it aims to set up the GRA in the middle of this year.

Problem gambling appears to be under control in Singapore, with the number of people arrested for unlawful gambling activities remaining stable at about 1,000 a year from 2011 to 2020.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development said in a statement that in tandem with the introduction of the Bills, it will strengthen social safeguards for gambling.

Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli said the ministry strongly supports the legislative enhancements made by the MHA.

"We will continue to partner social service agencies that provide gambling rehabilitation programmes, and work closely with the National Council on Problem Gambling to provide upstream preventative education."