As the Remote Gambling Bill in Singapore passed its second reading earlier this month, a number of online gambling businesses have withdrawn their operations from the country. The bill is going to limit the Singapore gambling market to only non-profit operators owned locally. The official implementation of the bill is not yet determined but it will be sometime in 2015. Nevertheless, many international businesses already began contacting their websites’ users to inform them of the incoming closure of their platforms.
The first international operator to start packing is UK-based Bet365, which sent out notifications on October 15, stating that users will no longer be able to bet on the website. The company, which has lately been struggling due to the Guardian article about its gambling operations in China, has expressed its regrets for having to close its website for Singaporean users and asked them to withdraw the balance of their accounts. Bet365 is reported to have earned around £1.28 billion in revenue in 2013. The Guardian stated that the company is making around half of what it earns from markets where it does not possess an official license to offer gambling services.
Another big gambling operator, IBC Bet, also joined the pack of leaving companies. It sent a message to its Singaporean users that as of October 17, they will no longer be able to access and use their accounts. IBC Bet explained that the reason for that is the “recent regulatory developments.”
UK-listed 888 Holdings as well as the Asian operator SBOBET also made it clear that Singaporeans will not be able to access their websites. However, those two operators seem to have the goal of squeezing all possible profit before the last day before the Remote Gambling Bill is officially implemented. The operations director of Celton Manx Limited, owner of SBOBET, stated that his company will obey the new regulations only when they are launched. He further said that the government has not fully considered the “far-reaching effects it may have on legitimate businesses and individuals.”
As to UK-based company William Hill, it will keep its operations with no alterations until the final acceptance of the bill.
PokerStars, which has withdrawn from a number of grey markets during the past few months, is following the same strategy as William Hill, and will continue functioning as usual. It will, however, keep an eye on how the local market develops.
The local gambling industry of Singapore, and all international operators affected by the new bill, will monitor how the Singaporean government implements its new gambling legislation in practice, and how it deals with those that plan to offer gambling without having a license. For now, Singapore has stated it will focus on all IP addresses and payment transactions which are unauthorized and will penalize all users who in any way advertise or spread information about illegal websites.
