Singapore
Republic of Singapore
- Online casinoProhibited
- Online sports bettingMonopoly
- iLotteryMonopoly
- Online pokerProhibited
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Last verified
- 4 Aug 2026
Summary
Singapore is prohibitive by design and narrow by exception. The Gambling Control Act 2022 and the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Act 2022 both took effect on 1 August 2022, when the Casino Regulatory Authority was reconstituted as the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Gambling is unlawful unless licensed or exempt, and the only licensed remote offering is Singapore Pools (Private) Limited, whose operator licence under Section 54 of the Act was renewed for five years from 25 October 2025. Every other online platform, offshore licence or not, is unlawful, and the state uses website blocking, payment blocking and advertising bans to enforce that. The minimum gambling age is 21.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore (GRA)
- Regulator type
- Dedicated regulator
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Yes
- Minimum age
- 21+
- Tax base
- Gambling duties are administered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and cover betting, lotteries and sweepstakes, gaming machines and tombola, alongside casino tax on gross gaming revenue from the two integrated resorts. IRAS material describes tiered casino tax rates of 8 per cent and 12 per cent on premium play and 18 per cent and 22 per cent on other play, with the higher tier applying where an operator misses its development targets. Betting and lottery duty rates could not be read directly at review; confirm with IRAS before quoting a figure. There is no commercial online gambling tax base because there is no commercial online market.
- Capital
- Singapore
- Currency
- SGD
- Official languages
- English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil
Licensing
- Licence required
- Yes
- Application window
- Not yet verified
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Barriers to entry
- Singapore does not run a competitive online licensing market and there is no application route for a commercial online casino or sportsbook to serve Singapore residents. The licensed remote offering is Singapore Pools. Treat this as a closed market, not a hard one.
Licence types
Gambling operator licence (Section 54, Gambling Control Act 2022)
- Scope
- Betting operations, gaming and lotteries. Held by Singapore Pools (Private) Limited, whose licence the GRA renewed for a five-year tenure with effect from 25 October 2025.
- Term
- Five years
Class licences
- Scope
- Trade promotion, fundraiser, cause-related, survey-related and incidental gambling, and remote games of chance, as listed by the GRA.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- Not yet verified
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- Gambling duties are administered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and cover betting, lotteries and sweepstakes, gaming machines and tombola, alongside casino tax on gross gaming revenue from the two integrated resorts. IRAS material describes tiered casino tax rates of 8 per cent and 12 per cent on premium play and 18 per cent and 22 per cent on other play, with the higher tier applying where an operator misses its development targets. Betting and lottery duty rates could not be read directly at review; confirm with IRAS before quoting a figure. There is no commercial online gambling tax base because there is no commercial online market.
Compliance
- Minimum age
- 21+
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- KYC requirements
- Not yet verified
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Yes
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Yes
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Operator liability
- Singapore pairs prohibition with practical blocking. Website blocking, payment blocking and advertising bans were introduced for remote gambling in 2014 and carried into the current framework, and MHA describes strict laws and tough enforcement against syndicated operations.
Outlook
There is no realistic prospect of Singapore opening a competitive online market. What is worth tracking is the scope of the class-licence categories, the terms attached to the Singapore Pools licence at each renewal, and enforcement intensity against offshore supply and affiliate marketing aimed at Singapore residents.
Frequently asked questions
- Is online gambling legal in Singapore?
- Only through Singapore Pools, which holds the operator licence under Section 54 of the Gambling Control Act 2022. Every other online gambling platform is unlicensed and unlawful.
- What is the minimum gambling age in Singapore?
- It is 21, except at Singapore Pools physical outlets where it remains 18.
Sources
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore
Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Licences for other gambling operators - betting operations, lottery and game of chance
Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Regulating the casino and gambling industry
Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Gambling Control Act 2022 (No. 15 of 2022)
Singapore Statutes Online, Attorney-General Chambers
Cited as the official statute. Singapore Statutes Online returned HTTP 403 at review, so the Act detail recorded here rests on the GRA and MHA pages rather than on a direct read of the text.
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026 - Gambling duties and casino tax rates
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
The IRAS rate pages rendered as navigation only at review. The casino tax tiers recorded here come from IRAS summary text and should be treated as indicative; betting and lottery duty rates were not verified.
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026