In a September 10 parliamentary handle, Ms. Solar Xueling, Minister of Order for the Ministry of House Affairs and Ministry of Social and Household Construction, clarified Singapore’s stance true by the conclusion of the Casino Preserve watch over (Modification) Invoice’s 2nd Reading.
The bill, presented on July 4, 2024, goals to modernize Singapore’s casino gambling framework and grants the Playing Regulatory Authority (GRA) authority to designate any wagering instrument as casino chips. On the opposite hand, Ms. Solar emphasised that cryptocurrencies will be excluded from this scope, citing issues over their likely role in cash laundering.
Even supposing the amendments aim to future-proof the casino regime and inspire cashless gambling, the Minister firmly dominated out cryptocurrency spend, pointing out that GRA has no diagram of allowing cryptocurrency to be old as chips for casino gambling as this gifts cash laundering dangers.
This resolution aligns with broader global issues about the illicit spend of cryptocurrencies. A January 2024 epic by the UN Office on Medicine and Crime highlighted how each and each casinos and cryptocurrencies contain an increasing kind of been exploited by felony networks to launder illicit funds. Per Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, these platforms signify a vulnerability that organized crime teams contain exploited.
The rejection of cryptocurrency for gambling is fragment of a rising global pattern. Australia lately banned its spend for on-line having a guess to support folks management gambling habits, whereas Brazil also prohibited cryptocurrency funds for gambling in April 2024 to bolster transparency and cut cash laundering dangers.
On the opposite hand, the global crypto gambling market continues to thrive, having almost doubled to over $70 billion in the first half of of 2024, with forecasts predicting growth to $150 billion by 2030.
Source: TheGamblest