SINGAPORE — 55-year-old Singaporean actor Terence Cao is now under police investigation for appearing in videos which allegedly promoted illegal online gambling.
Chinese media Lianhe Zaobao reported that a reader tipped off to the paper that Terence Cao had appeared in three videos posted on a gambling website.
All three videos featuring Terence have been removed from the website and other social media, and only one can still be found on Facebook.
In the 1:55 minutes short video, Terence acted as two different weed control workers.
One of the workers lost S$500 in online soccer betting, and the other pulled out his phone and said he gained S$50 from betting.
The video shows the name of the gambling website at the end, with Terence narrating that while winning money in small betting could bring happiness, but reminded viewers not to put all into gambling until they lose everything.
According to Singapore’s Gambling Control Act (2022), all gambling activities are prohibited unless for those licensed, class-licensed, or exempted.
Singapore Pools is the only licensed company to offer gambling and betting services in the city-state.
Zaobao reported that both Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) and Singapore Police Force are currently investigating the matter.
GRA spokesperson said they have the authority to shut down illegal gambling websites according to Gambling Control Act.
When contacted by Zaobao’s reporter, Terance Cao explained that he was approached by a production company he had never worked with before to produce these videos.
Terance Cao said he was unaware of the website’s background and asked the reporter to watch the videos instead.
“It’s to tell people not to gamble!” Terance Cao told the reporter. He did not respond to subsequent calls and messages from the reporter.
Gambling Control Act states that a person who commits an offence related to the advertising of any unlawful gambling, can face a maximum fine of $20,000 if found guilty.
