Growth of Online Casino Industry in Singapore

The online gambling Singapore industry is an on and off type of deal because the legal status of gambling in the country continues to change from time to time. Despite having a rich history in gambling activities, the Tiger of Asia still grapples to come to terms with the permanence of the gambling status in the country. 

The Singapore online gambling industry continues to emerge despite all the hurdles it faces in the past few decades. The government is still undecided regarding the creation of a much more definitive law to support gambling in the country.

The Asian gambling market continues to improve from the neighboring countries and it is expected to continue to dominate the gambling world. The future of the Singaporean online betting market is optimistic as we usher in a new era of advancement in technologies.

A Brief History of Gambling in Singapore

Back in the pre-colonial period, Singapore was a part of Malaysia and it was a small harbor in the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The people of Han Chinese migrated to the area and shared the land with the Malays. After the British colonial period, the country gained independence and was established as a sovereign state.

Before the birth of Singapore pools, the earliest gambling activities differed from each race but were still incorporated as the whole identity of the Singaporean culture. The Singaporean Chinese inherited the gambling games from China like mahjong and dice games. The Singaporeans Malays enjoy cockfighting and people bet on their favorite rooster.

In 1923, the British government decided to legalize gambling in Singapore, but crime strives in the country along with gambling. Many organized crime groups also run underground gambling halls that are why gambling was associated with these mafias. The government then decided to ban gambling to prevent these crimes.

In 2005, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that they will open two resorts in the Marina Bay Front and Sentosa Island. These resorts were Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. The two resorts opened casinos as part of their feature to cater to guests with both relaxation and entertainment like live casino Singapore.

Both the resorts were part of the plan to legalize gambling but with the condition that it will be used for tourism purposes. This condition was established in the casinos and forced the casinos to prioritize foreigners and for the locals to play they have to pay an extra fee.

Online Gambling

The strict policy of the casinos to prioritize the foreign punters to increase tourism revenue forced the local players to turn their attention to online gambling Singapore. However, the government also placed restrictions on Singapore online casinos much to the chagrin of the players.

The Remote Gambling Act of 2014 was passed to ensure that all forms of Singapore online gambling will be prohibited in Singapore. Violators of the law were fined and sentenced to imprisonment and gambling sites were blocked and shut down to continue to implement the law.

As of now online gambling Singapore is still polarizing and Singapore-based gamblers were forced to comply with the law because certain entities regulate online gambling in Singapore. As of now the only forms of gambling allowed in Singapore were poker, card games, and bookmaking. Online casino Singapore operations were still banned in Singapore and are monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Final Words

They hope to fully legalize online gambling Singapore is continuing despite the current status of the industry in the country. Offshore gambling sites are still catering to Singapore-based players and available in Chinese and Malay languages.

If only the restriction were removed sooner, the online gambling market in Singapore will continue to flourish and will be one of the emerging markets in the country. As of now, Singapore players will continue to hope for an easing of these restrictions in the future.