Singapore to recognize electronic credits as casino chips under new rules

Singapore is moving to formalize electronic credits as casino chips under new casino regulations, with the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) also keeping the door open to other betting instruments if it deems them suitable. For payment teams and casino operators, the practical point is straightforward: the city-state is trying to make cashless gaming a defined legal pathway, while drawing a hard line against crypto.

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday that Singapore will enact new Casino Control (Prescribed Casino Chips) Regulations 2026 to prescribe electronic credits as casino chips. The update is part of a second package of measures under the Casino Control (Amendment) Act 2024, which came into force that same day.
2. The amendment bill received its second reading in Singapore’s parliament in September 2024. According to the ministry, the point of the changes is to “future-proof the regime” so it can accommodate new payment methods, including “cashless gaming.” One example given was a customer betting at gaming tables and slot machines by drawing virtual credits directly from a cashless gaming account or e-wallet.
3. The ministry also said the GRA has no intention of allowing cryptocurrencies to be used as casino gaming chips, citing anti-money laundering risks. That leaves Singapore open to cashless mechanics, but not to crypto rails in the casino floor sense.
4. Several new offences are being introduced to keep the casino regime enforceable. These include prohibiting the withdrawal of bets once the result of a match is known, after authorities found that existing law punished placing the bet after the result was known, but not the withdrawal itself, forcing police to rely on other statutes in cheating cases.
5. Another offence covers recording non-card games. Previously, it was an offence to use a device to record cards dealt during play, but police encountered customers trying to cheat by recording patterns in non-card games such as slots. The updated rules also make an excluded person liable for entering, remaining in, or gambling at a casino if they knew, or reasonably should have known, about their exclusion status, removing the need for the GRA to prove actual awareness at the time of entry.

The operator-suitability provisions in the amended law were also updated, but the text provided does not spell out the full scope of those changes.