The average monthly betting amount among probable pathological gamblers was $313 in 2014, stated the Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing.
This is in response to the questions filed by Mr Chen Show Mao, MP for Aljunied GRC, who asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year from 2006 to 2015 what has been the average spending by problem gamblers and what has been the respective percentage of the aggregate number of problem gamblers according to their household income deciles.
Just recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced in September that Singapore Pools Private Limited (Pools) and Singapore Turf Club (STC) are suitable to be exempt operators under the Remote Gambling Act (RGA), therefore, they will be allowed to offer remote gambling services for their existing products, under a stringent set of conditions.
The RGA came into force in February 2015, taking a prohibitive stance against gambling. It prohibits remote gambling activities and provides law enforcement agencies with the powers to tackle remote gambling and its associated concerns.
In response to the exemption, many members of public have voiced their concern that by allowing the operators to operate online will allow greater access to gamblers, making it easier to be addicted to gambling or to worsen the condition.
