Online casinos accepting players from Singapore

Online gambling in Singapore is still very common despite a law that took effect on February 2, 2016, making it illegal to bet offshore and imposing harsh penalties for those who get caught. The Remote Gambling Act closed gray area loopholes in regards to online betting that were not addressed in previous laws.

The five main pieces of legislation governing gambling in Singapore are:

• Private Lotteries Act 1952
• Betting Act 1960
• Common Gaming Houses Act 1961
• Casino Control Act 2006
• Remote Gambling Act (RGA)

The RGA not only outlawed most forms of online gambling, but it also opened up new possibilities for legal betting in the city-state. Unfortunately, online casino gambling and poker were not included in the exceptions.

Singaporeans have been able to place specifically legal bets online since late 2016 at two state-sanctioned sites: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club. The former rolled out services in October of that year and the latter in November.

These permissions gave residents and visitors the option to place bets in the following categories at the approved sites:

• Sports - Football, Auto racing (live betting)
• Betting Act 1960
• Lottery - 4D, Toto, Singapore Sweeps
• Horse racing

Part of the government's reasoning for allowing legal online betting was to give people an opportunity to exit underground betting along with all of its pitfalls. The reasoning worked back in the 1960s when the legislature passed the Betting Act and allowed Singapore pools to take in-person bets. Much of the illegal betting moved to open bookies.

However, according to several metrics that does not seem to be the case with online gambling. According to the Straights Times the large majority of punters, over 95%, were already customers. A quick look at tax revenues in 2016 compared to 2018 tells the same story.

Not only illegal, but it's also difficult to bet offshore

The very day the Remote Gambling Act (RGA) went into effect in 2015 the government began blocking hundreds of online gambling sites. Internet service providers had no choice but to go along with the new law and neither did the local banking institutions. Punters, ISPs, financial institutions, and operators face civil as well as criminal penalties for breaking the law.

As Singaporeans are strident bettors (the vast majority of visitors to the two casino resorts there are locals) and where there's a will, there's a way - enterprising gamblers have simply taken to Google to figure out how to bypass DNS and/or IP blocks. Some online casinos have also set up a series of "redirects" allowing players to access them via mirror sites that aren't recorded on the government and ISP blacklists.

Payment Methods for Singapore

The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) will not allow customers to deposit directly from their bank accounts, credit cards, or debit cards. This has caused many who enjoy casino gaming to find new ways to fund their play time.

One of the most effective methods players report is the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The government has chosen not to fully regulate or to ban the use of digital currencies and so far, and only seems interested in protecting consumers through stopping ICOs (initial coin offerings) and discouraging trade in digital tokens that are securities or futures contracts without the Monetary Authority of Singapore's authorization.

Some players have found success with using prepaid cards to deposit. Aside from BTC, the best way to get money into and out of an offshore site is the use of an eWallet like Neteller or Skrill.

The most important thing to do is to visit an online casino below that accepts players from Singapore and who understands the particular challenges. Those listed on this page have been identified as Singapore-friendly. Customer service agents are available around the clock at most gaming sites to offer assistance.

It can be as simple as this:

• Visit the site
• Click on live chat
• Ask for best methods

Online Games and Casinos in Singapore

While most of the publically traded software and game providers focus their efforts on serving players in regulated markets, several developers take the position that as soon as the game is licensed it's no longer their business where it is deployed.

That is good news for players. Even better news for those who wish to play is the fact that many online venues take the position that people anywhere in the world are free to use the internet however they please. Where's there's a demand, there will always be a supply.

On the surface, one might think that would mean the marketplace is full of unscrupulous providers willing to flout the law and willing to take advantage of customers. You'd be right. But looking deeper you will also see that many sites, such as the ones listed here, have good reputations for fair play, on-time payments, and excellent customer service.

Geolocation

Some casinos that carry games from developers who are licensed in jurisdictions with extremely robust regulations may simply not make those games available in unregulated locales. They use geolocation to make the games disappear when logging in from an unserviced market.

For example, NetEnt games are very popular all over the world. However, NetEnt has a deal with the government-owned monopolies in Canada to supply games only through the online lottery outlets. No offshore casino will offer the games. They are in the lobby for players everywhere else, but Canadians simply can't see them so they can't play them.

Not all casinos offer this level of service, but usually, if you can click on a game you will be able to play!

Types of games

Any type of game you can play at Resorts World or Marina Bay Sands will be found online - plus a lot more!

• Live Dealer Games
• Video Slots
• Reel Slots
• Blackjack
• Progressive Slots
• Roulette
• Baccarat
• Craps
• Video Poker
• Sic Bo
• Card Games
• Scratch Games
• Keno
• Casino War
• Fixed Odds
• Poker

Realtime Gaming (RTG) is a popular random number generator-based (RNG) software developer with games available all over the world. One of the original software providers, nearly all casinos that carry their games don't use aggregators or other platforms so the entire game catalog is games from their own labs.

More than 300 games are available with the PC/Windows-only download client. About 150 games have been optimized for mobile and instant play so far.

RTG releases Asian-themed video slots with multi-stage free spins and other bonus features on at least a monthly basis. If you haven't tried the games for several years you may be in for a pleasant surprise!

Proprietary developers like 3Dice and Slotland Entertainment produce games for their own casinos and don't offer them for play anywhere else. Slotland's games can be found at Slotland, Win A Day, and CryptoSlots. The latter accepts only digital currency and pays daily. They also provide a $1,000,000,000 jackpot slot that can only be played with loyalty points. Each of the other sites run local progressive jackpots across most of the casino's games.

Betsoft Gaming is another popular gaming software for the region. The slots are easy to spot due to their cinematic 3D quality and host characters. Heads up Hold'em Poker3 features super fast gameplay against virtual opponents. Look for high definition virtual table games like baccarat, pai gow poker, roulette, craps and more.

The blackjack suite offers an impressive variety of games for players in Singapore.

Author: Shelly Schiff