Singapore: Sports Betting, Banking, Odds and More

One cannot deny the ever-growing popularity of online sports betting around the world. Singapore casino websites that offer sports betting are very much included and the only thing that most people would probably worry about is the legalities that are involved in this. Lucky for you, this is the perfect article that would enlighten you about the current state and everything else you need to know about sports betting in Singapore.

Betting Laws in Singapore

People cannot be blamed if they’re concerned about the legalities of gambling, especially if they are not in their native country. In Singapore, the only gambling laws you should be knowledgeable about include the Betting Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act. Neither of the two even covers the scope of the internet or online gambling.

In 2014, the Remote Gambling Act was established which paved the way for the two domestic Singapore casino operators: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club. These two are the only legal bookmakers that the locals can place their wager on. The act, however, still has so many loopholes that do not entirely prohibit Singaporeans to wager on foreign and international bookmakers.

Many people also believe that it’s highly unlikely for any kind of law to stop the locals from doing online gambling (other than Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club) because of the many foreign business agreements and partnerships that Singapore has.

Banking on foreign bookmakers

Since the law regarding online betting is in a gray area, this does not stop Singaporean punters to place their bets on international bookmakers other than SG Turf Club and SG Pools. Luckily for the locals, using foreign bookmakers online is a lot easier than people would most expect. There are two main banking options: through internet banking or through e-wallets.

Internet banking is fairly simple and straightforward. They just need to create an account with the online bookmaker first. The next step, similar to how you do it on domestic operators, you make a deposit or withdrawal using their bank account online.

The other banking method is through e-wallets. Perhaps the most common and preferred e-wallet available internationally is Skrill. Apart from foreign availability, funding your account in SGD or other currencies that the online casino is requiring. You can place funds on your Skrill account though Internet Banking as well. The only main difference is that e-wallet accounts like Skrill can be used in multiple online casinos.

Why the locals prefer foreign bookmakers

It all boils down to the limited number of available sports or types of wagers that the domestic operators’ SG Turf Club and SG Pools offer. When it comes to Singapore football betting, wagering may not be a problem at all. The problem is the markets that are available on both are quite restricted in terms of variety.

While there are options for other types of bets like side bets, total goals, half and full-time scores, handicapping, and 1st goal scorer, that’s all there is to it. Quite stale and many Singaporeans completely feel the same way. Simply put, there are loads of other choices if they wager on international online casinos.

Additionally, one huge marketing strategy that most foreign web casinos do is offering welcome bonuses. Providing a good number of promotions, deals, and bonuses are all huge factors to become appealing to punters. Sadly, domestic Singapore casino operators do not have the luxury of offering as much bonus due to the limited number of sports and wagers to bet on.

Lastly, Singaporeans would mostly prefer foreign online bookmakers as they offer higher odds and better betting value when compared to their domestic sportsbook Singapore operators.

Popular sports in Singapore

Singapore football betting is probably the most loved sport of Singaporeans. Their craze for this sport is not that surprising as it is also the most popular sports in the world with its many leagues and major events all year long. Apart from the leagues in Europe, they are also into Asia football leagues such as the Chinese Super League and the Japanese J-League.

Other than football, the locals also love tennis. Similar to football, tennis is held very frequently and Singaporeans love the regular tennis matches that are slated a yearlong from January until mid-November.

Another popular sport in the country that Singaporeans love so much is motor racing. To prove such passion and the need for speed of Singaporeans with this sport, their domestic and local operators are offering the markets for all major racing events around the globe. Other than motor racing, Singaporeans were also into horse racing as well.

While the locals are not missing out on such huge sports, foreign bookmakers are helping them to learn more and get exposure to sports other than what they are being commonly offered by SG Turf Club and SG Pools.

Singapore betting odds

If you don’t know, there are many different types of odds formats when it comes to sports betting. Some online casinos use American Odds, UK Odds, European Odds, Asian Odds (which have Malay, Indonesian, and Hong Kong, etc.), and sometimes, a combination of any format.

Odds are what determines how much you are going to be paid if you win a bet. Singaporeans make use of the European odds so it is in the decimal system.