Patrons who visit a casino more times than allowed by their family will be committing an offence from Monday (Sept 21) as the second tranche of amendments to the Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024 takes effect.

In addition to criminalising breach of family visit limits, provisions to future-proof the Gambling Regulatory Authority's (GRA) operational effectiveness and tightened regulations to deter casino-related crime also come into effect the same day. 

During the second reading of the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill in September 2024, then-Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said casino-related crimes remain low in Singapore.

But the changes, which was last amended in 2012, are part of the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) regular review to ensure it keeps up with changes in the gambling industry, she added.

Family visit limits

Prior to the amendment, it was not a crime for patrons to breach their family visit limits.

Between 2010 to 2023, about five people breached their family visit limits annually.

From Sept 21, those who exceed the limit can be jailed for up to a year, or fined up to $10,000 for a new offence.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said previously there were three to 14 applications a year for family visit limits over the last decade.

These limits can be applied for as long as the family is affected by the gambler's habits, such as neglecting his family responsibilities.

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Operational effectiveness

The new law also makes it an offence to withdraw bets after the result of the game is known.

Before Sept 21, it was only an offence to place a bet after the result is known, but not to withdraw it.

Ten people were investigated for withdrawing their bets between 2010 and 2023, but the police had to use other laws such as theft in dwelling to deal with them.

In addition, to curb the use of a device in an attempt to cheat the casinos by recording play patterns of non-card games such as gaming machines, the act of recording non-card games will now be criminalised.

Those under exclusion orders from casinos will also face stricter laws. 

Those automatically excluded by the law as they are undischarged bankrupts, on social assistance programmes, or banned by their families or the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), can now be prosecuted if they know, or ought reasonably to know, about their exclusion status.

Previously, the authorities had to show that they are aware of their exclusion status.

Meanwhile, casino operators will now be required to share information of patrons with each other, for the purposes of tackling money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

Future-proofing

To keep up with changes, the Casino Control Act was also amended to empower GRA to regulate betting and lotteries in the casinos, in addition to games of chance.

MHA and MSF said in a joint statement that this is to pre-empt future changes in the gambling landscape.

GRA will also be empowered to approve gaming software, including gaming software deployed on mobile devices, should the need arise.

If approved, such gaming software must only be deployed and playable within the casino premises, MHA and MSF highlighted.

The ministries said these amendments will keep Singapore's casino regulatory framework robust and responsive to emerging risks, while upholding the integrity of casino operations, and strengthen safeguards against gambling-related harm.

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editor@asiaone.com