New and stricter laws on casinos and licensees regulation; family visit limit kicks in

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.

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.

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.

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.

从周一（9 月 21 日）起，赌场管制（修订）法案 2024 的第二批修正案生效，届时，顾客如果到赌场的次数超过其家庭允许的次数，将构成违法行为。

除了将违反家庭探访限制的行为定为刑事犯罪外，旨在确保博彩监管局 (GRA) 未来运营效率的条款以及加强监管以遏制与赌场相关的犯罪的法规也于同一天生效。

在 2024 年 9 月举行的《赌场管制（修正）法案》二读期间，时任内政部政务部长孙雪玲表示，新加坡与赌场相关的犯罪率仍然很低。

但她补充说，这些变化是内政部 (MHA) 定期审查的一部分，以确保其与博彩业的变化保持同步，而这些变化上次修订是在 2012 年。

在修正案生效之前，顾客违反家庭探访限制并不构成犯罪。

2010 年至 2023 年间，每年约有 5 人违反了探亲次数限制。

从 9 月 21 日起，超过限制者可被判处最高一年监禁，或对新违法行为处以最高 10,000 美元的罚款。

社会及家庭发展部（MSF）此前表示，过去十年间，每年家庭探访限制的申请数量在 3 到 14 份之间。

只要赌徒的习惯（例如忽视家庭责任）对家庭造成影响，这些限制就可以一直适用。

运营效率

新法律还规定，在比赛结果公布后撤回赌注属于违法行为。

9 月 21 日之前，只有在比赛结果公布后下注才属于违法行为，而撤回投注并不违法。

2010 年至 2023 年间，有 10 人因提取赌注而受到调查，但警方不得不使用其他法律（例如入室盗窃）来处理他们。

此外，为了遏制使用设备记录非纸牌游戏（如老虎机）的玩法模式以欺骗赌场的行为，记录非纸牌游戏的行为现在将被定为犯罪。

那些被赌场禁止入内的人也将面临更严格的法律制裁。

根据法律规定，那些因未解除破产、领取社会救助金或被家人或全国问题赌博委员会 (NCPG) 禁止赌博而被自动排除在外的人，如果知道或理应知道自己被排除在外，现在可能会受到起诉。

此前，当局必须证明他们了解自身的被排斥状态。

与此同时，赌场运营商现在将被要求相互共享顾客信息，以打击洗钱、恐怖主义融资和扩散融资。

为了跟上时代的变化，《赌场管制法》也进行了修订，赋予加纳博彩管理局监管赌场内博彩和彩票以及机会游戏的权力。

内政部和无国界医生组织在一份联合声明中表示，此举是为了预先应对博彩业格局未来可能出现的变化。

如有需要，GRA还将有权批准游戏软件，包括部署在移动设备上的游戏软件。

MHA 和 MSF 强调，如果获得批准，此类游戏软件必须只能在赌场内部署和运行。

各部门表示，这些修订将使新加坡的赌场监管框架保持稳健，能够应对新出现的风险，同时维护赌场运营的诚信，并加强对赌博相关危害的保障措施。