Singapore’s gambling regulation sets example to Japan

Mr. Nakagawa, who is leading the Japanese government's integrated resorts efforts, said last week that Singapore's experience in establishing IRs as well as its strong legislation and responsible gambling, helped Japan craft its gaming law, which was passed last year.

Speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Fifth Singapore Symposium on Gambling Regulation and Crime, the director-general of the Preparation Office of Japan Casino Regulatory Commission said: "The goals of the IRs in Japan are not so different from Singapore's. We are looking to boost the future of Japan as the IRs did for Singapore."

The plan is for the IRs to open in the middle of the next decade, and they will include casinos, entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels and conference halls.

Mr Nakagawa said Japan studied measures implemented by casino regulators in various jurisdictions, including Singapore, Australia and Macau. "Japan is a latecomer to the gaming market... so we have paid a lot of attention to ensure we can keep up with the competitiveness of international gaming investors," he said.

Japan has adopted similar measures to Singapore's casino regulation, including a 6,000 yen (S$78) entry fee for residents and limits on the number of visits citizens can make to a gaming venue. But before the IRs can open, Japan has to first establish its casino regulatory body which will be done by January next year, said Mr. Nakagawa.

Japan plans to give out three gaming licenses and this has garnered the interest of casino operators worldwide, including operators of Singapore's two IRs, Las Vegas Sands Corp and Genting Singapore, which run Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa respectively.

Mr Nakagawa said there is no plan yet on where the IRs will be located and no confirmation on who will be running the casinos.

However, he expects proposals for the licences from local governments at the prefecture and city levels to be submitted by the early 2020s, after which the government in Tokyo will decide on the locations.

Singapore: casino patrons to get alerts on gambling habits 

One of the latest responsible gambling efforts introduced in Singapore were spending alerts casino patrons can get to self-regulate habits. In April, entry fees to Singapore casinos, including the Marina Bay Sands casino (above), were raised.

Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo said casino patrons could soon receive personalized alerts on the amount of time and money they have spent at a casino, as part of the efforts carried out to mitigate the risk of problem gambling.

Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority is working together with casinos on measures that could also include getting patrons to self-regulate their gambling habits by voluntarily setting caps on their expenditure and time spent at the tables, added Mrs. Teo while addressing gambling regulators and law enforcement officials from around the world at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

She said Singapore is learning from responsible gaming measures implemented in other jurisdictions, such as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The Boston-based gaming regulator has centres at various casinos where advisers provide patrons with information so that they can make better-informed decisions about gambling, its director of research and responsible gaming Mark Vander Linden told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the event.

Slot machines at the casinos are also programmed to allow players to set spending caps and will send out on-screen alerts when they have spent a portion of their budget.

Said Mr Vander Linden: "It's about making relevant information (and reminders) available to them at the right moments, so they can also stop and think."

Singapore, too, has introduced several initiatives to encourage responsible gaming, such as the annual Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, said Mrs Teo in her speech.

In April, entry fees to Singapore casinos were raised when the Government announced the $9 billion expansion plans of the two integrated resorts here. The daily levy now is $150, up from $100, and the annual pass costs $3,000, up from $2,000.

But Mrs Teo stressed that with changes to the gambling landscape, gambling regulators need to continue learning from one another. She said: "Regulators and law enforcement agencies need to keep up to date with these developments, and make sure our policies and rules remain effective."

One challenge is the change brought about by technology that has led to an increase in online gambling. She said: "From their smartphones, punters can access gambling products anywhere, any time. Across the world, online gambling has been on the rise."

Singapore, too, has witnessed such a trend, with about 60 per cent of Singapore Pools' sports betting turnover now done through remote channels, up from 30 per cent just three years ago.

Another challenge is the development of new products catering to the younger generation who are less interested in traditional gambling products such as jackpot machines and horse racing. "Regulators around the world will need to figure out how to regulate these products," she said, citing how some products resemble computer games and appear to be skills-based.

Mrs Teo said regulators should also learn from how other jurisdictions address law and order concerns, especially regarding money laundering and terrorism financing.

More needs to be done, and some regulators have made good use of data analytics to tackle these areas, such as the French Online Gaming Regulatory Authority, she added.