Singapore’s not fond of gambling and to beckon this, the country has had its Singapore’s Organized Crime Act (OCA) for a while now. The country has finally got a chance to add some flesh to its dissatisfaction with gambling, pronouncing itself against a particular operator.
On Friday, it was reported that one Or Poh Soon had pleaded guilty over his involvement with an illegal online gambling platform, which took lottery and sports bets, using a network of websites, as many as six reports said. One of the portals was named as Peng888.com.
Mr Or was arrested along with dozens of others back in 2016 over their illicit involvement with gambling affairs. Mr Or was charged later in November 2017 under OCA and has been effectively the first person to stand trial as a result of illegal online gambling.
Mr Or has been in business since 2013 and running his particularly lucrative trade. He introduced an 8-10% juice on his customers’ punts and clawed 5% of all lottery profits customers in fact won.
Or managed to generate about $46,400 out of his betting activities prior to his arrest. But the numbers at hand are much larger. Only one of the websites is said to have generated S$26.6 million in the last few months of carrying out betting activities.
The guilty plea may bring Or a prison sentence of up to 5 years as well as a fine of S$100,000. Or may also be sentenced based on what the Remote Gambling Act mandates in such situations.
Singapore has also elected a new chairman of its Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), the body which mandates all gambling activities on the territory of the polis. Tan Hee How, the incumbent, has been since then vigilant over infringement of the law.
Singapore’s History With Gambling
Singapore has often taken a hawkish approach towards its gambling industry, albeit it was not out of hostility why the government has done so. In many places around the world, it’s common for casinos that don’t have the financial backing to run their operations to continue pilfering from their customers.
As early as 2012, Singapore made it clear that if a casino didn’t have enough ready money to cover the winnings of its customers, it may not be operating in the city-state. With the recent ban and the first real enforcement of OCA, it’s even more unlikely that Singapore will transition towards an online regulated gambling industry.
With this in mind, it’s worth noting that it’s legal for individuals to place sports wagers on websites that accept Singapore punters. Conversely, it’s still illegal to be running online gambling trades on the territory of the city-state.
With the current legislation changes are unlikely to follow soon. The mold has been cracking up elsewhere, with Japan flirting with the idea of introducing land based casinos. However, China has been targeting major operators who have been forced to withdraw their efforts from the country. Legislation in Asia is patchy, but it’s enforced duly.
