The change was announced via a Facebook post by the GRA, which thanked the public for its contributions in reducing harm caused by illegal gambling sites.
The post notes that ‘From 1 January 2025, the Singapore Police Force will take over the blocking of such websites’.
This was furthered with information indicating that since 2015, over 3,800 illegal gambling websites have been blocked and over 145,000 payment transactions were stopped – totaling SG$37 million ($27.1 million).
The post urges citizens and visitors to report unlawful gambling activities directly to the police, via their whistleblower website.
Late last year, Singapore passed changes to its Casino Control Act, granting further oversight rights to the GRA in a bid to future-proof the industry. It also lowered the threshold for due diligence checks on casino deposits earlier in the year.
The city-state has also been making legislative improvements to its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) frameworks, measures passed in the wake of a massive multi-billion-dollar money laundering case that allegedly had links to gaming operations within Southeast Asia.
It is illegal under Singapore law for any person to provide unlicensed gambling services in or from Singapore, or from outside Singapore to persons situated in Singapore.
Singapore Pools is the only gambling service provider licensed to offer legal online gambling services in the country.
https://agbrief.com/news/singapore/02/01/2025/singapore-police-now-in-charge-of-blocking-illegal-gambling-websites/