Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has reportedly blocked access to Polymarket, a predictions market, as part of a broader crackdown on unlicensed gambling service providers. Under Singaporean law, predictions markets like Polymarket are considered online gambling websites.

According to Alex Zuo, vice president of investment and custody at Cobo Global, users can only place bets with Singapore Pools, a state-owned gambling website. This development comes weeks after Polymarket rose to global fame for correctly predicting Donald Trump as the winner of the U.S. presidential race.

The increased scrutiny led regulators, including the French regulator National Gaming Authority, to block Polymarket. At the time, the French regulator was examining Polymarket’s operations and compliance with French gambling laws, according to Bitcoin.com News.

Zuo meanwhile shared a screenshot on Jan. 12 explaining why access to Polymarket is being blocked.

“Under Section 20 of the Gambling Control Act 2022, a person convicted of gambling with unlicensed gambling service providers is liable for a fine of up to $10,000, or a jail term of up to 6 months or both,” a statement attributed to the GRA said.

By expanding the definitions of “gambling” and “betting,” this section of the Gambling Act ensures that a wide array of gambling formats are governed under a unified regulatory approach. This, in turn, enhances oversight and promotes responsible gambling practices across the sector.

Besides imposing harsher penalties for illegal gambling, the law criminalizes proxy gambling, addressing practices that undermine regulatory efforts. The law also introduced enhanced advertising regulations to close loopholes enabling the unlawful promotion of gambling services.

However, some critics believe stricter controls on gambling, both in private and public settings, encroach on individual freedoms. Meanwhile, the Singaporean regulator’s statement directs residents experiencing gambling-related issues to reach out to the National Council on Problem Gambling.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。