iGaming Business – Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that the country is to introduce new restrictions for online and phone gambling from next year after a new Remote Gambling Bill was passed in Parliament yesterday (Tuesday).

According to Singapore newspaper Today, the new Act criminalises all forms of remote gambling in the country, covering gamblers, facilitators, runners and operators.

The Act will also allow for websites and payments transactions to be blocked and for certain advertisements to be banned.

The Singapore government also confirmed that a number of operators will be exempt from the new Act.

Parliament passed the Bill despite protests from a number of MPs who voiced their concerns over the provision for exempt operators and instead called for a complete ban on remote gambling in the country.

Such exempt operators could be authorised to offer a Singapore-based remote gambling service to customers in the country, but opposing MPs said this system would send a mixed message to the public.

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