Jackpot machines to face restrictions in Singapore

Clubs that operate jackpot machines in Singapore will face more restrictions, as the MHA announced yesterday.

Singapore.- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revealed new regulations that set more restrictions to clubs that operate jackpot machines in the country. The biggest change that these facilities will experience is the increase of the minimum age from 18 to 21 years.

Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam revealed that the new measures force clubs to prove that they provide a suitably wide range of substantive recreational and social facilities outside running jackpot machines. The number of those machines will also be reduced, as Channel NewsAsia reported, as the government is trying to reduce the potential harms of gambling. The MHA has been reviewing the industry for more than a year in order to make sure that clubs don’t have that modality as their primary operation.

“Our sense was that that original objective was not being met with a number of these outfits. From the review, we decided to substantially tighten it up, because we want to get back and keep to the original objectives,” said the official. Singapore currently offers 1900 jackpot machines in 82 clubs. It is estimated that in the next two years the number will be reduced by a third.

Moreover, the SAFRA welcomed the new measures and said that it supports responsible gaming. “We will study the potential impact on our operations and how to fulfil the regulatory requirements,” said the entity.