Singapore regulator urges global effort on casino crime

The head of Singapore’s casino regulator has called on colleagues from all over the world to work together in order to improve regulatory measures to stop the threats posed by transnational crime.

Singapore.- The Chairman for the Casino Regulatory Authority Of Singapore, Lee Tzu Yang, said that casino regulators need to work together to address the challenges of a fast-changing casino sector and the wide-ranging threats to the integrity of the industry via transnational crime.

Lee said that sharing experiences will help to alert regulators “to the changing modus operandi of criminal behavior” and allow authorities to “take action” by putting in place controls that ensure “there is no illegitimate exploitation of the casinos.”

“The industry is dynamic and continues to change. Asia continues to be a source of growth for the industry. Whilst many Asian countries plan for legislation, the entities they seek to regulate are often part of larger regional or international organisations, which are already operating in other jurisdictions,” he added.

“Casinos are cash-intensive businesses that operate 24 hours a day, with a high volume of different transactions taking place, including financial activities such as money exchange, money transfers, cashing of cheques and so on. These have associated risks, such as money laundering, terrorism financing, illicit flow of funds and syndicated cheating,” he noted.

Despite the fact that Lee stated that there isn’t an ideal solution to the issues facing gaming jurisdictions with authorities needing to tailor strategies to be relevant to their own needs, he proclaimed that regulators “can better learn and adapt through discussions with like-minded counterparts.”