Singapore will not permit the use of cryptocurrency in land-based gaming, according to its new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA). The regulator is exploring crypto for video game and social gaming platforms, reports Inside Asian Gaming, but in general is wary of opening the door to the currency as a funding agent.
Singapore has two integrated resorts with casinos, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, operated by the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Genting, respectively. At the recent “Regulating the Game” conference in Sydney, GRA General Counsel Albert Yeo said “there is no real appetite” for cryptocurrency at the two IRs.
“It is a very volatile in terms of its revenue stream,” Yeo said. “Internally the idea is to just not allow it to begin with or to even allow it into the door. The moment you start even entertaining [the idea], you know it will be difficult to stop.
“I’m not sure if there is any legislative framework that would allow us to do it anyway, but we are looking into it, seeing where it is creeping in and making sure it doesn’t invade the casinos in Singapore.”
Last August, the GRA replaced the Casino Regulatory Authority to specifically assess evolving technologies in the gaming space, IAG reported. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said the authority “allows the government to more effectively stay ahead of technological and gambling trends, respond more adequately to emerging gambling products and take a more holistic and coherent approach to gambling policies.”
According to Yeo, cryptocurrency “is one of the main things we are currently looking at,” given the difficulty of tracing blockchain transactions.
“We know it is a new space,” he continued, “and we are engaging the developers themselves, trying to understand what the products mean.”
Singapore has also banned advertising by crypto exchanges. Last fall, after the downfall of global exchange FTX, the Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a statement saying, “The most important lesson from the FTX debacle is that dealing in any cryptocurrency, on any platform, is hazardous.
“Crypto exchanges can and do fail. Even if a crypto exchange is licensed in Singapore, it would be currently only regulated to address money-laundering risks, not to protect investors. This is similar to the approach currently taken in most jurisdictions.
“Further, even if a crypto exchange is well-managed, cryptocurrencies themselves are highly volatile and many of them have lost all value. The ongoing turmoil in the crypto industry serves as a reminder of the huge risks of dealing in cryptocurrencies.”
