Singapore to prescribe electronic credits as casino chips under new regulatory regime

Singapore is to enact new casino regulations to prescribe electronic credits as casino chips. Additionally, “new wagering instruments may also be prescribed in future,” should the city-state’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) “assess them to be suitable”. That is according to a Monday update from the Ministry of Home Affairs, outlining a second tranche of measures under the country’s Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024 that took effect that day. The Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024 had received a second reading in Singapore’s parliament in September 2024. Monday’s statement said: “New Casino Control (Prescribed Casino Chips) Regulations 2026 will be enacted to prescribe electronic credits as casino chips. “New wagering instruments may also be prescribed in future, should GRA assess them to be suitable.” The statement said the intent of the changes was “to future-proof the regime” to allow for new modes of payment, “such as cashless gaming”. “An example is where a patron may place wagers at either the gaming tables or gaming machines by drawing down virtual credits directly from his cashless gaming account or e-wallet,” the ministry explained. It added: “GRA has no intention of allowing cryptocurrency to be used as chips for casino gambling as this presents money laundering risks.” The ministry also stated that, “to ensure our laws continue to be an effective deterrent against casino-related crime,” a number of new offences had been introduced. They include prohibition on withdrawal of bets after the result of a game is known. The statement noted: “Previously, it was an offence for patrons to place a bet in a casino after the result is known but not an offence to withdraw a bet after the result is known, and the police have had to use provisions in other laws to deal with such cheating cases.” Another new offence concerns the recording of non-card games. “Previously, it was an offence to use a device to record cards dealt in the course of gaming. However, the police have encountered cases of patrons who attempt to cheat the casinos by recording play patterns of non-card games (e.g. gaming machines),” said the update. In addition, an excluded person will be liable “for entering, remaining or taking part in gambling on casino premises if it is proven that he knows, or ought reasonably to know that he was an excluded person”. This removes the requirement for GRA to prove that the excluded person was aware of their exclusion status at the time of entry. Operator suitability The amended act also expands suitability criteria for casino operators. Singapore is a duopoly consisting of the Resorts World Sentosa complex, run by Genting Singapore Ltd, and Marina Bay Sands, operated by a unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp. The operator suitability criteria now include whether the operator conducts its business “in a manner which is unethical or which will bring discredit to casino gambling in Singapore”; and “whether there has been a systemic deficiency or failure” in the casino operator’s internal controls or corporate governance. The GRA is empowered to take disciplinary action against an operator if it assesses the operator’s suitability to hold a casino licence is affected due to breaches of the suitability criteria. The Casino Control (Amendment) Act will also require the casino operators to share with each other information on patrons “for the purposes of tackling money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing”. The statement said: “This allows the casino operators to take swifter action when a patron is found to pose a higher risk of money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing.” The amended law also seeks to strengthen protection for “vulnerable groups” of consumers. While it was previously an offence for an individual to breach a law-based casino exclusion order, third party exclusion order, third party visit limit, or family exclusion order, now “for parity, the breach of a family visit limit for casinos” is also “criminalised”. The amended law also allows the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) immediately to substitute an exclusion order with a visit limit, and vice versa, avoiding a previous one- to two-month waiting time to change conditions for those at risk. The ministry stated: “Taken together, these amendments will keep Singapore’s casino regulatory framework robust and responsive to emerging risks, uphold the integrity of casino operations, and strengthen safeguards against gambling-related harm.”