According to local Singapore media, Singapore-based lottery operators Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club have applied to be exempted from laws that block online betting and are preparing to launch their online platforms as early as October.
Both lottery operators are already in final tests for their online platforms, according to the Straits Times.
The operators have asked to be exempted from Singapore’s Remote Gambling Act, but the Ministry of Home Affairs has only confirmed that it is evaluating the operator’s applications.
According to the paper, details are still being finalized, but it is expected that all lotteries and games except for Big Sweep will be available online. However, betting amounts and permutations will be limited.
Singapore Pools offers betting on football and motor racing as well as 4-D and Toto, while STC takes bets on horse races, the report said.
Singapore passed its gambling act two years ago that outlawed online and phone gambling, but left open the possibility of exemptions.
An operator could be exempted provided that it was a not-for-profit operation and contributed to public, social and charitable causes in Singapore. Both STC and Singapore Pools meet these criteria. They are not-for-profit organizations operated by the Singapore Totalisator Board (Tote Board), a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance, the Strait Times report said.
