Exemptions allow ‘managed space’ for online gambling: Tan Chuan-Jin
(Photo: Philippine Star)
The government’s move to exempt Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club from the current ban on online betting aims to create a “managed space” and offer a “safer alternative” for those looking to place online bets, said Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin.
During a ChannelNewsAsia interview on Thursday (6 October), Tan responded to a statement issued earlier by the National Council of Churches Singapore (NCCS), which voiced its concern over the exemptions and called for move to be reviewed.
The NCCS had also said that the government was sending “confusing and conflicting signals”, having passed the Remote Gambling Act – which banned online and phone betting – just two years ago, in 2014.
“I share their (NCCS) concerns about problem gambling and the ills that come with it,” Tan said. “(The) question is: How do you solve the problem that’s at hand? It’s a very real problem that we see today, which is: Online gambling is there, and it is growing.”
Protecting gamblers
Highlighting the issue of safety for Singaporeans gambling online in “unprotected space”, Tan said the exemptions were crafted so that those who still want to gamble online will be in a “safe space where they can hopefully gamble safely and responsibly”.
Tan also reiterated that even with the ban lifted, the operators would not be allowed to offer new products and will have to stick to 4D, TOTO, football betting, horse racing and F1.
“With a combination of robust laws, bans, a controlled space, support by an extensive network for individuals with problems, and education and awareness, we can (manage) the growth of these (gambling) problems,” he said.
Overseas examples
In defending the government’s decision to grant exemptions from the online gambling ban, Tan said the government had studied “other regimes” and cited Hong Kong and Norway as being “similar to us”.
These countries had implemented “exempt operator” systems yet had not seen an increase in problem gambling, something that Tan said was “encouraging”.
Still, Tan said that the government is expecting problem gambling online to grow “because of the nature of online gambling in and of itself”, hence the need to manage the situation as effectively as possible.
