The recently-established gambling regulator for the island nation of Singapore has reportedly granted Singapore Pools (Private) Limited a new three-year license for the provision of lotteries as well as wagering on soccer and horseracing events.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the Gambling Regulatory Authority watchdog established over the summer stated that it awarded the fresh certification to state-owned Singapore Pools (Private) Limited after determining the operator had ‘fulfilled the suitability criteria’ under Section 54 of the country’s Gambling Control Act of 2022. The source detailed that this latest license for the operator behind the Toto, 4D and Singapore Sweep-branded lottery games began from Tuesday and is due to run for three full years until late-October of 2025.

Fetching franchise:

Established in 1968 in order to help the former British enclave counter illegal betting syndicates, Singapore Pools (Private) Limited is a subsidiary of the Tote Board and reportedly chalked up approximately $5.1 billion in aggregated revenues for the twelve months to the end of March with some 80% of this figure having come from sports wagering. The operator purportedly furthermore paid around $1.1 billion in betting duties and taxes over the course of the same period while handing over roughly $218.5 million to its state-run parent.

Embryonic establishment:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that the Gambling Regulatory Authority began life in August via the Gambling Control Act of 2022 as a direct replacement for Singapore’s former Casino Regulatory Authority body. The new regulator under the guidance of Teo Chun Ching was purportedly also given a raft of new streamlined powers related to the licensing of different forms of legal gambling including lotteries and sportsbetting.

Sanctioned sites:

Alongside granting a license to Singapore Pools (Private) Limited and the Gambling Regulatory Authority reportedly went on to publish a list of the 297 land-based venues from which the operator is permitted to offer its services. These authorized enterprises purportedly include outlets situated within the enclave’s giant Marina Bay Sands (pictured) and Resorts World Sentosa developments in addition to its Singapore Racecourse horseracing property.

Public position:

Meanwhile, a second source reportedly cited a recent YouGov pool that found some 60% of adults in Singapore do not condone online gambling and are against its legalization. This result purportedly makes the city-state of approximately 5.6 million inhabitants one of the most anti-iGaming jurisdictions in the world behind mainland China, which is thought to have an antagonism rate of something like 56%.

Conventional centering:

The source noted that this local animosity towards online gambling means that Singapore will likely continue concentrating on its land-based gambling sector, which has been credited with boosting the local economy through the creation of jobs, at the expense of any iGaming liberalization. This is purportedly the course generally being followed by Japan as this country is focusing on debuting a trio of Las Vegas-style casino resorts while keeping the vast majority of online casino and sportsbetting entertainment illegal.