More detail on Singapore’s remote gaming act

The Singapore government Media Development Authority has provided further details on the nation’s Remote Gambling Act, scheduled to come into force on February 2 this year.

Whilst the Act outlaws online gambling, it does not cover those games in which players do not win cash prizes, the Authority explained to local reporters.

And online games which do not have any in-game facility to convert virtual goods and currency into real money will not fall afoul of the new regulations.

The Authority clarified that the Act does not prohibit leader-boards or tournaments where players can win prizes or money in real life, as long as they are not “casino-style” games. Games like Farmville and Candy Crush Saga – in their current forms – are therefore not affected.

This latter clarification was in response to concerns from the general gaming industry that the Act would cover and prohibit social games.

Passed in Parliament last October, (see previous reports) the Act will make it illegal for gamblers to gamble online at unauthorised websites, and makes it unlawful to facilitate others to gamble illegally, or for operators to provide unauthorised remote gambling services.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday:

“The objectives of regulating remote gambling are to maintain law and order and to minimise the potential harm of remote gambling, especially to young persons and other vulnerable persons.”

However the Media Authority assured interested parties that the new legislation will not impede the development of legitimate social media gaming businesses.

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