Singapore Gambling Regulatory Authority to continue CRA’s work

Teo Chun Ching says the new regulator will absorb the work that had been done by the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA).

Singapore.- Teo Chun Ching, chief executive of the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore (GRA), has confirmed that the GRA has absorbed work previously carried out by the former Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA). He said the new body will continue the CRA’s work to ensure that “the harms of casino gambling are kept at bay.”

The new regulator, which will oversee the entire gambling landscape in Singapore, was launched in August. It has the authority to issue operator licences for gambling services such as betting and lottery businesses, gaming machine rooms and gambling in private establishments, provided the licensees are considered “fit and proper”.

Sharing the Casino Regulatory Authority 2021-22 annual report, outgoing CRA chairman Tan Tee How outlined the CRA’s approach to maintaining the integrity of Singapore’s casino resort duopoly shared by Genting Singapore Ltd’s Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands.

Tan said the CRA had worked closely with agencies such as the Singapore Police Force, the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the National Council on Problem Gambling and had achieved positive results. He said the number of gambling-related crimes remains low and that problem gambling is under control.

He noted that with strong social security safeguards in place, concerns about the potential harm that casinos could pose to society have been largely alleviated. Tan also said that emerging technologies and products, including online gambling, meant regulators must stay ahead of emerging trends.