The Singapore High Court in The Star Entertainment QLD Ltd v Yong Khong Yoong Mark [2021] SGHC 280 has confirmed that s 3(2)(f) of the Reciprocal Enforcement of Commonwealth Judgments Act (Cap 264, 1985 Rev Ed) does not prevent the registration of a foreign judgment based on a gambling debt. In doing so, the High Court held that it was bound by a previous decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal in Liao Eng Kiat v Burswood Nominees Ltd [2004] 4 SLR(R) 690 (“Burswood Nominees“), and that the remarks made by a differently constituted Court of Appeal in Poh Soon Kiat v Desert Palace Inc [2010] 1 SLR 1129 disagreeing with the reasoning in Burswood Nominees were merely obiter. This decision provides clarity for now on how the Singapore High Court will treat applications for the registration in Singapore of foreign judgments founded upon gambling debts incurred at overseas casinos.
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