Two Bills Introduced in Parliament to Overhaul Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Regime

On 14 February 2022, the Gambling Control Bill (“GC Bill“) and the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill (“GRA Bill“) were read for the first time in Parliament. Their introduction marks the next stage of the reform of Singapore’s gambling regime which began in 2021 with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (“MHA“) recommendation for a holistic update to Singapore’s gambling laws. This was followed by further recommendations pursuant to a public consultation on MHA’s proposed amendments to gambling laws in Singapore, which we covered in our July 2021 Legal Update titled “Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to Laws Governing Gambling Activities”.

With the introduction of the GC Bill and the GRA Bill, Singapore has taken another step closer towards fully modernising its gambling regulation. If passed, the Bills will result in a significant overhaul and consolidation of the current regulatory regime. Key changes include:

1. Establishing the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore (“GRA“) to regulate the entire gambling landscape in Singapore;
2. Updating gambling laws and regulatory approaches to keep pace with the evolving gambling landscape;
3. Legalising terrestrial social gambling;
4. Criminalising underage and proxy gambling; and
5. Introducing new licensing regimes.

In this Update, we will highlight the key changes introduced by both Bills.