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26-03-2011, 05:58 AM
Mar 26, 2011
Gamble online? You bet
Sports betting illegal but sites raked in $133m from Singapore last year
By Mavis Toh
SINCE being introduced to online sports betting three years ago, sales manager Peter Lim has not placed a single bet with bookmaker Singapore Pools.
He found the odds were better online, there was no need for cash upfront and he could place bets 24/7 - all from the comfort of his home.
The 46-year-old is one of a growing number of Singaporeans choosing to place their bets using the Internet - even though it is illegal.
This trend has prompted some lawyers here to say that the country's gambling laws need to be updated to better tackle the online gaming situation.
Last year, online sports betting sites raked in US$105 million (S$133 million) from punters here, up from US$92 million in 2009 and US$82 million the year before.
The figures were obtained by The Straits Times from Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC), a British Isles-based firm which provides data and publications for the global gambling industry.
They came from tracking data of the gambling websites of licensed operators, and GBGC estimates that illegal online operators also profited up to US$150 million from punters here last year.
Although some of these operators hold licences from offshore jurisdictions such as First Cagayan and Isle of Man, placing bets with overseas bookmakers, whether licensed or not, is illegal here. The unlicensed operators, meanwhile, are often syndicates with dealings across Asia.
Earlier this month, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said in Parliament that a new Organised Crime Act is in the works to deal specifically with organised crime and to pre-empt the sinking of roots here by foreign syndicates.
Police said that 1,041 people were arrested for illegal gambling and betting activities last year. Three weeks ago, they busted an illegal online betting syndicate which dealt with nearly $1.5 million worth of bets.
During the World Cup season last July, Interpol coordinated raids by police from Singapore, China, Malaysia and Thailand on more than 800 illegal gambling dens that had handled more than US$155 million in bets.
Industry players interviewed said there are about 450 sports betting websites worldwide and 2,500 others offering online gambling such as poker.
Sites popular with Singaporean punters include international bookmakers such as Betfair, SBOBET and Ladbrokes, where they log in using credit cards to place bets on sports games including soccer and basketball. Such sites often give out free credits to entice new players, and reward existing members for referrals they make. The Straits Times understands that local bookies offer punters an alternative where they can place bets without having to fork out ready cash or instant credit card deductions.
These punters, accepted only by recommendations, are given a code and a website where they are to place the bets. Winnings and losses are then settled face to face with the bookie or through bank transfers three to four days later.
Regular clients are given a longer time to repay their losses and the bookies also have a ready pool of loan sharks to introduce to those who cannot pay up.
Former online gambler Raymond Lim, 46, said: 'There's more leeway with bookies, you can discuss with them. You go to sites that use credit cards, can't pay up and you'll get a lawyer's letter.'
A former bookie, who asked to be known only as Tan, said local bookies also work with offshore licensed operators. These operators allow their betting sites to be used by the bookies and in return they get a cut of the winnings.
A spokesman for First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, the master licensor of online betting operators there, said there are currently 45 active licensees. Asked if the corporation is concerned whether its licensees are targeting punters in countries where online betting is illegal, he said: 'Each of these operators know the legalities of their own target market, we don't meddle with that.'
GBGC's director Lorien Pilling believes Singapore would benefit from regulating Internet betting. 'If more jurisdictions in Asia were to regulate Internet gambling, with a realistic tax rate and a competitive market, governments could benefit from reduced illegal gambling and a new source of tax revenues,' he said.
Meanwhile, lawyers believe legislation governing gambling here - the Betting Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act, both enacted in the 1960s - need to be updated.
Mr Lau Kok Keng, head of Rajah and Tann's gambling law practice, pointed out it is unclear even whether an Internet betting site hosted outside Singapore falls within the definition of a common betting house since the premise is virtual.
'The existing statutory provisions do not seem to adequately cover online gambling. Applying the Acts to online gambling is difficult because they were enacted in the age where the Internet did not exist,' he added.
To overcome his betting habit, Mr Lim threw out his personal computer last year. But he expects more tech-savvy youngsters to fall prey to online betting.
Those convicted of illegally accepting bets can be fined up to $200,000 and jailed for up to five years. The punter can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months.
mavistoh@sph.com.sg
One man's 24/7 addiction
HE THOUGHT he could analyse the odds, play smart and count on his luck to win big.
Win he did. He once made $14,000 over three days betting online on soccer matches.
But what had come so easily went just as easily. Recalling his addiction two years ago to online betting, Mr Tony Tan, 35, a programme executive, said: 'I thought Lady Luck was on my side. I placed more bets and all the money was gone in two days.'
He has since quit gambling with the help of counselling and a support group.
The weekend that he won $14,000, he put his whole life on hold. He stayed glued to his computer screen in his room, tracking the odds on soccer matches for the English Premier League, the Japan League and even the South American League.
He wolfed down meals in front of the computer and tore himself away only once every few hours to dash to the bathroom.
When there were no sports matches to bet on, roulette and blackjack became his next choice. He got a kick out of just watching the ball roll every time he played virtual roulette, he said.
He was introduced to online betting in 2008 through a Web link that a friend had sent him. He set up an account linked to his credit card and was good to go.
'Before that, I was speculating on stocks, but when the market crashed, I turned to online gambling because I wanted instant cash,' he said.
The odds online - often six to seven times better than those offered by licensed bookmakers here - were what appealed to him most.
'You can also place bets 24/7, and unlike the case with casinos here, there is no entrance fee,' he said, referring to the $100 that each citizen or permanent resident here has to pay to get into the casinos at either of the two integrated resorts.
Another advantage of online gambling: He could hide his addiction from family and friends, who assumed he was on the Internet or doing work. At the office, when he logged on to check the odds, he looked like he was working.
He started gambling at age 16 when he and his schoolmates placed bets with bookies. For four years, he was also a runner for these bookies, collecting bets from punters at coffee shops.
MAVIS TOH
Gamble online? You bet
Sports betting illegal but sites raked in $133m from Singapore last year
By Mavis Toh
SINCE being introduced to online sports betting three years ago, sales manager Peter Lim has not placed a single bet with bookmaker Singapore Pools.
He found the odds were better online, there was no need for cash upfront and he could place bets 24/7 - all from the comfort of his home.
The 46-year-old is one of a growing number of Singaporeans choosing to place their bets using the Internet - even though it is illegal.
This trend has prompted some lawyers here to say that the country's gambling laws need to be updated to better tackle the online gaming situation.
Last year, online sports betting sites raked in US$105 million (S$133 million) from punters here, up from US$92 million in 2009 and US$82 million the year before.
The figures were obtained by The Straits Times from Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC), a British Isles-based firm which provides data and publications for the global gambling industry.
They came from tracking data of the gambling websites of licensed operators, and GBGC estimates that illegal online operators also profited up to US$150 million from punters here last year.
Although some of these operators hold licences from offshore jurisdictions such as First Cagayan and Isle of Man, placing bets with overseas bookmakers, whether licensed or not, is illegal here. The unlicensed operators, meanwhile, are often syndicates with dealings across Asia.
Earlier this month, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said in Parliament that a new Organised Crime Act is in the works to deal specifically with organised crime and to pre-empt the sinking of roots here by foreign syndicates.
Police said that 1,041 people were arrested for illegal gambling and betting activities last year. Three weeks ago, they busted an illegal online betting syndicate which dealt with nearly $1.5 million worth of bets.
During the World Cup season last July, Interpol coordinated raids by police from Singapore, China, Malaysia and Thailand on more than 800 illegal gambling dens that had handled more than US$155 million in bets.
Industry players interviewed said there are about 450 sports betting websites worldwide and 2,500 others offering online gambling such as poker.
Sites popular with Singaporean punters include international bookmakers such as Betfair, SBOBET and Ladbrokes, where they log in using credit cards to place bets on sports games including soccer and basketball. Such sites often give out free credits to entice new players, and reward existing members for referrals they make. The Straits Times understands that local bookies offer punters an alternative where they can place bets without having to fork out ready cash or instant credit card deductions.
These punters, accepted only by recommendations, are given a code and a website where they are to place the bets. Winnings and losses are then settled face to face with the bookie or through bank transfers three to four days later.
Regular clients are given a longer time to repay their losses and the bookies also have a ready pool of loan sharks to introduce to those who cannot pay up.
Former online gambler Raymond Lim, 46, said: 'There's more leeway with bookies, you can discuss with them. You go to sites that use credit cards, can't pay up and you'll get a lawyer's letter.'
A former bookie, who asked to be known only as Tan, said local bookies also work with offshore licensed operators. These operators allow their betting sites to be used by the bookies and in return they get a cut of the winnings.
A spokesman for First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, the master licensor of online betting operators there, said there are currently 45 active licensees. Asked if the corporation is concerned whether its licensees are targeting punters in countries where online betting is illegal, he said: 'Each of these operators know the legalities of their own target market, we don't meddle with that.'
GBGC's director Lorien Pilling believes Singapore would benefit from regulating Internet betting. 'If more jurisdictions in Asia were to regulate Internet gambling, with a realistic tax rate and a competitive market, governments could benefit from reduced illegal gambling and a new source of tax revenues,' he said.
Meanwhile, lawyers believe legislation governing gambling here - the Betting Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act, both enacted in the 1960s - need to be updated.
Mr Lau Kok Keng, head of Rajah and Tann's gambling law practice, pointed out it is unclear even whether an Internet betting site hosted outside Singapore falls within the definition of a common betting house since the premise is virtual.
'The existing statutory provisions do not seem to adequately cover online gambling. Applying the Acts to online gambling is difficult because they were enacted in the age where the Internet did not exist,' he added.
To overcome his betting habit, Mr Lim threw out his personal computer last year. But he expects more tech-savvy youngsters to fall prey to online betting.
Those convicted of illegally accepting bets can be fined up to $200,000 and jailed for up to five years. The punter can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months.
mavistoh@sph.com.sg
One man's 24/7 addiction
HE THOUGHT he could analyse the odds, play smart and count on his luck to win big.
Win he did. He once made $14,000 over three days betting online on soccer matches.
But what had come so easily went just as easily. Recalling his addiction two years ago to online betting, Mr Tony Tan, 35, a programme executive, said: 'I thought Lady Luck was on my side. I placed more bets and all the money was gone in two days.'
He has since quit gambling with the help of counselling and a support group.
The weekend that he won $14,000, he put his whole life on hold. He stayed glued to his computer screen in his room, tracking the odds on soccer matches for the English Premier League, the Japan League and even the South American League.
He wolfed down meals in front of the computer and tore himself away only once every few hours to dash to the bathroom.
When there were no sports matches to bet on, roulette and blackjack became his next choice. He got a kick out of just watching the ball roll every time he played virtual roulette, he said.
He was introduced to online betting in 2008 through a Web link that a friend had sent him. He set up an account linked to his credit card and was good to go.
'Before that, I was speculating on stocks, but when the market crashed, I turned to online gambling because I wanted instant cash,' he said.
The odds online - often six to seven times better than those offered by licensed bookmakers here - were what appealed to him most.
'You can also place bets 24/7, and unlike the case with casinos here, there is no entrance fee,' he said, referring to the $100 that each citizen or permanent resident here has to pay to get into the casinos at either of the two integrated resorts.
Another advantage of online gambling: He could hide his addiction from family and friends, who assumed he was on the Internet or doing work. At the office, when he logged on to check the odds, he looked like he was working.
He started gambling at age 16 when he and his schoolmates placed bets with bookies. For four years, he was also a runner for these bookies, collecting bets from punters at coffee shops.
MAVIS TOH
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