Casino Control Act Changes 2026 and Gambling Regulation in Singapore

The short answer: what changed in gambling regulation in Singapore

As of October 2026, gambling regulation in Singapore has just taken another step. On 21 September 2026 the second tranche of the Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024 came into force. It lets the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) regulate betting and lotteries inside the casinos, approve gaming software including software on mobile devices, and treat electronic credits as casino chips. It also adds new casino offences, wider suitability tests for casino operators and mandatory patron information sharing to fight money laundering.

Outside the casinos, the Gambling Control Act 2022 still sets the rules: gambling is unlawful unless it is licensed, covered by a class licence or exempt. That matters to retailers running lucky draws, games studios using loot boxes, hotels hosting events and anyone marketing gambling.

This article explains the 2026 casino changes, what they mean for operators, suppliers and promoters, and how they sit alongside the wider regime. Our full practice page on gaming and gambling in Singapore covers the framework in more depth.

The framework: two Acts and one regulator

Singapore regulates gambling through two main statutes. The Casino Control Act 2006 governs the two integrated-resort casinos, their operators, shareholders, employees and patrons. The Gambling Control Act 2022 covers all other gambling, including Singapore Pools, gaming machine rooms in clubs, class-licensed promotions and remote gambling.

The GRA, a statutory board under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), regulates both. The Police enforce against illegal gambling, and the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) administers exclusion orders and visit limits for vulnerable people.

The Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024, passed on 10 September 2024, is being brought into force in tranches. Understanding which provisions are live is the starting point for any question about gambling regulation in Singapore in 2026.

The 2024 tranche: shareholders, penalties and levies

The first tranche, which MHA brought into force on 30 October 2024, is still the baseline for corporate planning. It expanded the offence of destroying or falsifying documents required by the GRA to cover anyone who handles them, such as casino staff, and aligned penalties for giving false or misleading information to the GRA with the Banking Act: up to S$125,000, three years' imprisonment or both for individuals, and up to S$250,000 for other persons.

It also reallocated approval powers over who may own or control a casino operator. Approvals relating to main shareholders' divestments and acquisitions moved to the Minister for Home Affairs, while decisions on controllers and substantial shareholders moved to the GRA. For investors, that means any transaction upstream of a casino operator needs a regulatory work plan alongside the commercial one, and is a core part of gambling regulation in Singapore for M&A teams.

The 21 September 2026 changes in detail

MHA's press release of 21 September 2026 groups the second-tranche changes under three themes.

Future-proofing casino gaming

The GRA can now regulate betting and lotteries in the casinos, not just games of chance, so new product types can be brought within the casino regime rather than requiring further legislation. It can also approve gaming software, including software deployed on mobile devices. MHA notes that any such approved software may only be deployed and playable within the casino premises, so this is not a route to online casino gambling.

The GRA may also prescribe any instrument or thing as casino chips. MHA announced new Casino Control (Prescribed Casino Chips) Regulations 2026 to prescribe electronic credits as casino chips. For operators and suppliers, this opens the way to cashless gaming on the casino floor, but chip controls, cash-handling standards and anti-money laundering procedures will need to be redesigned around electronic value.

Tighter regulation of operators and patrons

Two new offences target cheating. Withdrawing a bet after the result is known is now an offence under the Casino Control Act, closing a gap that previously forced the Police to rely on other laws. The existing offence of recording cards dealt in gaming now extends to recording non-card games such as gaming machines.

An excluded person is now liable for entering or gambling in a casino if they knew or ought reasonably to have known of their exclusion, so the GRA no longer has to prove actual awareness at the time of entry.

The GRA can now assess, on an ongoing basis, whether a casino operator conducts its business, including business outside Singapore or unrelated to casino operations, unethically or in a way that brings discredit to casino gambling in Singapore, and whether there has been a systemic failure in internal controls or corporate governance. It can take disciplinary action on those grounds.

Information sharing to fight money laundering

Casino operators must now share patron information with each other to tackle money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. MHA likens this to provisions in the Financial Services and Markets Act for financial institutions. Operators should update their AML/CFT frameworks, data governance and patron-facing notices; see our guide to anti-money laundering in Singapore and our PDPA page.

Protection for vulnerable groups

Breaching a Family Visit Limit is now an offence, matching the position for other exclusion orders. The NCPG and its committees can also substitute an Exclusion Order for a Visit Limit, or vice versa, immediately; MHA explains that the old revoke-and-reimpose process could take one to two months, during which the person had no safeguard.

For casino operators, these changes mean entry systems and staff training must reflect new categories of offence, and records of exclusion status need to be accurate and current. This is one of the most visible parts of gambling regulation in Singapore for patrons and their families, and errors at the entry gantry can quickly become regulatory issues.

Beyond the casinos: the Gambling Control Act routes

For most businesses, gambling regulation in Singapore is encountered outside the casinos. Under the Gambling Control Act, an activity involving betting, gaming or a lottery must fit a lawful route: an individual GRA licence, a class licence, or an exemption.

The GRA's class licence page lists lower-risk activities that need no application or notification, provided every condition in the relevant class licence order is met: cause-related and survey-related games, fundraiser lotteries, remote games of chance such as loot boxes, trade promotion lucky draws (where the business must not collect money from participants) and incidental games at events. Mystery boxes are listed as a category with conditions to be provided later.

Social gambling is the other narrow route. The Gambling Control Act exempts certain physical social gambling among family and personal acquaintances, typically at home, where no one takes a commission or profits from organising it. The exemption does not extend to online social gambling, and businesses should not assume that a private event or members' gathering qualifies.

Remote gambling is tightly controlled. The GRA states that Singapore Pools is the only operator licensed to provide remote gambling services, and that from 1 January 2025 the Singapore Police Force took over blocking access to unlawful remote gambling services, advertising and payment transactions. According to the GRA's guidance, individuals who take part in unlicensed remote gambling face a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to six months or both, while those who conduct unlawful gambling face fines of up to S$500,000 and up to seven years' imprisonment.

What operators, suppliers and promoters should do now

1. Map your exposure. Identify whether you are a casino operator, a supplier of gaming equipment or software, an international market agent, a class-licensed promoter or an advertiser.
2. Review casino controls. Update chip, cage and cash-handling procedures for electronic credits, and test surveillance and game-integrity controls against the new offences.
3. Prepare software approvals. Suppliers planning mobile or new gaming software should engage the GRA approval and testing laboratory process before deployment.
4. Refresh AML/CFT frameworks. Build processes for sharing and receiving patron risk information between operators, with clear data governance.
5. Brief governance. Report group-wide ethics and control issues to the board of the casino operator, given the wider suitability test.
6. Check promotions. Run every lucky draw, loot box mechanic or prize campaign against the relevant class licence order before launch.
7. Clear advertising. Confirm advertising and promotion approvals; the GRA states that licensed operators' advertising is prohibited unless approved.

Illustrative scenario: a gaming supplier and a hotel promotion

This scenario is illustrative and does not describe any real business. An overseas gaming technology company wants to supply an electronic wallet that lets patrons play table games on the casino floor using stored value. Before the 2026 changes there was no clear basis for treating electronic value as chips. Now the supplier works with a casino operator to seek GRA approvals, model how the product meets cash-handling and AML standards, and confirm the product is playable only within the casino premises.

Separately, a hotel in the integrated resort wants to run a guest promotion with a prize draw. Because the draw sits outside the casino, it falls under the Gambling Control Act rather than the Casino Control Act. The hotel's marketing team checks the trade promotion class licence conditions, confirms that guests do not pay to enter, and keeps records of the draw. For hospitality-sector issues more broadly, see our page on hotels and hospitality in Singapore.

Risks and common mistakes

Cross-border angle: foreign groups, suppliers and marketing

Foreign gaming groups, technology suppliers and payment providers are directly affected by gambling regulation in Singapore, even without a Singapore office. The wider suitability test brings group conduct abroad into view, and remote gambling offered from outside Singapore to people in Singapore is unlawful unless licensed.

For clients in the UK, the UAE, China and South Asia, a practical approach is to assess Singapore exposure product by product: what is offered to people in Singapore, where it is marketed, and how payments flow. Our offices in London, Dubai, China and Dhaka coordinate with the Singapore review. For advertising risk, the GRA's advertising guidance makes it an offence to advertise unlawful gambling in or from Singapore.

Checklist for 2026

• Confirm which Casino Control Act provisions now apply to your business and when they took effect.
• Update chip, cage and AML procedures for electronic credits and patron information sharing.
• Review game-integrity controls against the new bet-withdrawal and recording offences.
• Report group-wide governance issues that could affect casino operator suitability.
• Plan shareholder and controller approvals into any transaction upstream of a casino operator.
• Test every promotion against the relevant class licence order.
• Track GRA and MHA announcements on gambling regulation in Singapore for later commencement dates.

The 2026 amendments show the direction of gambling regulation in Singapore: more flexibility for new casino products, tighter scrutiny of operators and stronger safeguards for vulnerable people. If you need to assess a product, promotion or investment, contact TRW & Co. Where Singapore court or tribunal representation is required, we work alongside Singapore-qualified counsel.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and official materials

1. MHA: Second tranche of Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024 to take effect on 21 September 2026 — 2026 casino amendments in force
2. MHA: Commencement of the Casino Control (Amendment) Act on 30 October 2024 — First tranche, shareholder regime and entry levy rates
3. Casino Control Act 2006 — Statute governing casinos and casino operators
4. Gambling Control Act 2022 — Statute governing gambling outside casinos
5. GRA: Class Licences — Lucky draws, loot boxes and other class-licensed activities
6. GRA: Unlawful Remote Gambling Activities — Remote gambling offences and Police enforcement

General information only, current as at 20 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Singapore law and regulatory practice change; check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.