Once the new Gambling Control Legislation gets passed later this year, families will be able to apply to restrict their loved ones’ access to the Singapore Pools online account, which offers wagering on sports like football and 4D, and the 46 jackpot rooms in this city.
An individual forbidden by a member of his or her family from entering or gambling from any of the existing jackpot facilities here or opening an account online with Singapore Pools will face criminal charges if the Bill becomes law. A fine of up to $10,000 or a year in prison can be imposed on offenders.
A new gambling control law
As of February 14th, two bills aimed at regulating gambling in Singapore were introduced in Parliament. The two were called the Gambling Control Bill and Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill.
Renters in the Public Rental Scheme, which provides heavily subsidized Homes Board rental housing for low-income Singaporeans, would also be prohibited from gambling in casinos and jackpot rooms and from having a Singapore Pools online gambling account as of June 1, 2017.
According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), this aims to lessen the negative impact gambling has on them and their families.
In addition to people on ComCare and other government aid and subsidy programs such as ComCare, these renters will be prevented from owning a home in the future.
Peculiar and brilliant at the same time
The recent order of family exclusion prohibits those who are excluded from participating in any form of gambling, including casinos, jackpot rooms, or online sports betting sites like Singapore Pools. A Ministry of Home Affairs spokeswoman stated in an interview that as of the end of last year, there were two casinos and 46 jackpot rooms.
For family exclusion rulings, a committee of evaluators will evaluate whether to restrict the individual based on considerations such as regularity of gambling, the family’s misery, and financial status upon receipt of the family’s application for exclusion.
NCPG can require those who were banned by his/her family members to undergo counseling or rehabilitation, according to a representative for MSF.
According to the MSF spokeswoman, proprietors of jackpot rooms and SGPool4D venues would also be disciplined by the Gambling Regulatory Authority, a new organization that will regulate all types of gambling.
It’s going to be a family effort
The jackpot rooms as well as Singapore Pools will also prohibit the offender from their products until the new Casino Control Bill takes effect, according to the MSF.
Families of gambling addicts should be eligible to utilize a self-exclusion order to ban their loved ones, counselors working with gambling addicts say because the addict is unlikely to file for one himself.
Family exclusion orders are a way for families to push their loved ones to deal with their gambling addiction, says Blessed Grace Social Services Executive Director Billy Lee.
Tham Yuen Han, executive director of We Care Community Services, said the move to allow families to block their dear ones from entering or gambling on an SGPool online account is necessary because gamblers are now gambling more frequently on gambling sites, whether it’d be legal or illegal ones.
Closing thoughts
Addicts frequently take loans from loan sharks and regulated money lenders in addition to losing huge numbers to a few million dollars on betting activities like jackpot and football. Families are often being torn apart as a result of a gambler’s problem, according to the counselors they see.
One of our recent clients at We Care Community Services is a senior executive in his fifties who lost $500,000 on a single bet on his Singapore Pools account online. According to Ms. Tham, his gambling problems developed as a result of the epidemic and the increased pressure he was under at work.
The individual had become suicidal since he owed over $400,000 to banks and regulated money lenders. His family did pay off most of his debts, but they insisted that he attend counseling in order to quit playing the lottery.