Lottery operators Singapore Pools and the Singapore Turf Club have applied to be exempted from laws that curb online betting in Singapore, according to a report in The Straits Times.
The two operators are hoping to have online gambling in place for next June’s Euro 2016 football championships.
Singapore Pools has hired British online platform OpenBet—which provides online gambling software for major bookmakers such as William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfair—to upgrade its current platform top accommodate sports betting.
Lottery operators have until August to apply to the Ministry of Home Affairs to be exempted under the Remote Gambling Act, which goes into effect in February. The ministry conformed to the paper that both Singapore Pools and STC have applied for certificates of exemption to “offer remote gambling services for their existing products.”
MHA said that the applications will take nine to 12 months to evaluate.
Singapore Pools offers football and motor-racing betting, as well as lottery games like 4-D and Toto, while STC takes bets for horse races. Operators seeking an exemption must be not-for-profit organizations and have to include “robust social safeguards” in the websites to help gamblers control their activity.
Singapore Pools has appointed a steering committee—led by Singapore Pools chief executive Seah Chin Siong—which is towards getting its site up and running in time for the Euro 2016, the Strait Times reported.
