Plans by Singapore gaming regulators to merge its current casino and remote gambling regulators into a single entity have been delayed due to Covid-19, says the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA).
The Ministry of Home Affairs announced last year that the new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) would join together the CRA and the Gambling Regulatory Unit. The former regulates Singapore’s two casinos, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa; the latter regulates remote gambling services and fruit machines, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
The merger was supposed to have been in effect in early 2021, but was sidelined by the viral outbreak. “With most employees working from home during the pandemic, it has not been easy for CRA officers to prepare for GRA, as much of the developmental work requires intensive face-to-face discussions,” said CRA Chairman Tan Tee How.
Despite the challenges brought on by Covid, CRA Chief Executive Teo Chun Ching said officials have made “significant progress” in preparing for the change.
“Reviews are ongoing to rationalize and consolidate gambling legislations and regulatory frameworks for both existing and emerging gambling products to ensure that the entire gambling landscape will be regulated in a risk-calibrated and holistic manner,” he said.
“To enhance our capabilities and processes, we have also been focusing on digital, process and workforce transformation efforts. This is necessary to make us more effective and efficient in our work to keep Singapore safe from the potential harms and undesirable by-effects of gambling. Even after GRA is formed, transformation will remain an ongoing journey for us to stay agile in a dynamic and increasingly complex operating environment.”
The GRA will add a new training curriculum for officers, implement a new licensing system and extend the maximum tenure for special employee licenses from three years to seven years. The latter move would allow the GRA to “better calibrate special employee licenses according to various considerations such as job functions and risk profiles.”
The new body will also focus on promoting new technologies such as digital payment solutions, the CRA explained.
“The consolidation of regulatory functions under a single regulator serves to ensure that Singapore keeps up with trends in the global gambling landscape, while taking a holistic approach in formulating regulatory policies,” said Tan.
“For GRA to be effective in carrying out its new functions, we must strive to be a smart regulator—by anticipating trends and risks, and by entrenching risk management in our decision-making.” He praised officers who “persevered and achieved much despite the new working conditions. In addition, CRA officers worked relentlessly to ensure that CRA’s supervision of the casino industry remains thorough and robust.”
