Singapore Minister said controlled gambling is a good approach

Even though Singapore banned remote gambling, some players still found ways to place bets online.

Singapore.- Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs of Singapore, said that allowing some form of legal online betting in a tightly controlled manner is a realistic approach. Lee said that in 2015 more than 300 people were arrested for illegal gambling and more than 100 raids against the activity are carried out by the police every year.

The statistics show that online gambling still persists despite blocking hundreds of websites, bank accounts and transactions linked to remote gambling services. “A complete ban will drive demand underground and create larger incentives for criminal syndicates to target Singaporeans,” he added.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs said that the remote gambling market will double in size roughly every 10 years. “Here in Singapore, we are not immune from these global trends, given our high Internet and smartphone penetration rates,” he commented.