Singapore GRA blocks more than 1.6k illicit gambling sites

Jul 17, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck  

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Since its inauguration in August 2022, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore (GRA) has received circa “50 reports” related to illicit remote gambling activities, said on Saturday the Singapore-based Chinese-language media outlet Lianhe Zaobao, citing a reply from the regulator.

It also cited the GRA saying that the authority has, since that time, blocked over “1,600” illicit gambling websites and handled circa “250” bank accounts that were related to these activities, which involved an amount of “over SGD35 million” (US$26.5 million).

The report has also cited a spokesperson from the Singapore Police Force saying over “1,000” individuals had been arrested in the city-state from 2018 to 2022, over alleged involvement in illicit remote gambling activities. The authority did not give a yearly breakdown of the arrest numbers.

These arrested individuals included both the providers of the illicit gambling services and participants, the report said, citing the police force.

Under Singapore’s Gambling Control Act, a person that is found to have placed bets with an unlicensed gambling service provider can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to SGD10,000. Those who conduct illegal gambling services can face jail time of up to seven years and be fined up to SGD500,000.

Singapore Pools – a licensed operator for lottery and sports betting services in the city-state – is permitted to accept online wagers from registered users.

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