The passing of the Gambling Control Act 2022 on 1 August 2022 led to the phased introduction of a class licensing regime to regulate certain gambling services that were deemed to be of a lower risk. This class licensing regime comes into full effect from 1 February 2023.

In brief

From 1 February 2023, entities will be allowed to conduct trade promotion games of chance and lotteries and incidental games of chance and lotteries without having to apply for a licence from the Gambling Regulation Authority ("GRA"), provided that the applicable requirements in the Gambling Control (Trade and Other Promotional Games and Lotteries - Class Licence) Order 2022 and the Gambling Control (Minor Gambling – Class Licence) Order 2022 respectively are satisfied. We elaborate on these requirements below.

In further detail

What are Trade Promotion Games of Chance and Lotteries?

Trade promotion games of chance and lotteries are games of chance and lotteries conducted primarily to promote a business' trade in goods or services and are designed so that participation is either free or dependent on the purchase of the goods or services that are the subject of the marketing promotion.

Common examples of trade promotion games of chance and lotteries include lucky draws or sweepstakes where a customer gets a chance to win a prize with every purchase of the promoted good or service.

Requirements To Conduct Trade Promotion Games of Chance and Lotteries

From 1 February 2023, an entity is allowed to conduct trade promotion games of chance and lotteries without having to apply for a licence from the GRA, provided that the entity satisfies the following conditions:

  • Any promotional information or publicity material intended to promote the game or lottery must not contain or make reference to any impermissible gambling article specified in the Second Schedule of the Gambling Control (Trade and Other Promotional Games and Lotteries — Class Licence) Order 2022;
  • The determination of the winners for the prizes in the game or lottery takes place at the place, date or time in accordance with the publicity for the game or lottery;
  • Information such as the name of the entity, date, place and time for playing the game, and the rules for the game must be included in any publicity or marketing material in relation to the game or lottery;
  • The determination of winners in the game or lottery takes place in front of an audience at a meeting that is open to the general public or held wholly or partly by real-time transmission in the presence of an independent scrutineer;
  • Accurate records of the details of the game or lottery, the distribution of all prizes to the prize winners, the details of any unclaimed prizes and how the unclaimed prizes were dealt with, must be retained for a period of at least 5 years;
  • Each prize-winner in the game or lottery must be advised within 7 days after the determination of the winners of the game or lottery that the prize-winner has won and arrangements for the distribution of the relevant prize to each prize-winner must be carried out without delay; and
  • If the total value of the prizes in the game or lottery exceeds S$10,000, the entity must obtain a certification from the independent scrutineer.

What are Incidental Games of Chance and Lotteries?

Incidental games of chance and lotteries are games of chance and lotteries that are conducted as ancillary activities to non-gambling events such as private social functions and corporate dinners & dances as a form of entertainment or amusement. Participation in these incidental games of chance and lotteries must be free and limited to the event participants.

Requirements To Conduct Incidental Games of Chance and Lotteries

From 1 February 2023, an entity is allowed to conduct incidental games of chance and lotteries without having to apply for a licence from the GRA provided that the entity satisfies the following conditions:

  • Any promotional information or publicity material for the event must not exaggerate the connection between the game of chance or lottery and the event, so as to appear to be the primary inducement to attend the event to the reasonable observer;
  • Any promotional publicity information or marketing material for the event must not contain or make reference to any impermissible gambling article specified in the Second Schedule of the Gambling Control (Minor Gambling – Class Licence) Order 2022 (the "Order");
  • During the conduct of the game of chance or lottery, no image of any impermissible gambling article specified in the Second Schedule of the Order can be displayed;
  • The determination of the winners for the prizes in the game of chance or lottery takes place at the place, and either at or before the date or time of the event as publicised in the promotional information or publicity material for the event; and
  • Prize-winners in the game or lottery must be notified that they have won and be notified of details of how to claim their prize in accordance with the Order, within the prescribed time period.