Singapore Pools app can be used to bet from overseas, despite rules against it

The loophole works when users connect through the roaming data of Singapore telcos – despite Singapore Pools stating on its website that “you will not be able to access our app from overseas”.

The restriction still holds over foreign Wi-Fi networks, where the app displays: “Login has been denied. Singapore Pools online betting service is only available in Singapore.”

Singapore Pools told CNA its online betting services are intended solely for local use and that geofencing measures restrict access from overseas IP addresses. Other safeguards include verifying that account holders are Singapore residents or valid Foreign Identification Number holders.

Betting from overseas breaches Singapore Pools’ terms and conditions, and accounts found doing so can be frozen, suspended, terminated or closed. 

“As technologies evolve, we will continue to review and strengthen our safeguards to prevent improper use of our app,” said Singapore Pools. 

It did not comment on the loophole itself.

Singapore Pools launched its app in 2018, two years after the country legalised online betting. It lets users place bets on lottery draws and sports competitions such as football, motor racing and horse racing.

HOW THE LOOPHOLE WORKS

Some forms of internet routing can make an overseas user appear to be connecting from Singapore, said Professor Chan Mun Choon of the National University of Singapore’s Department of Computer Science, who also directs the NUS-NCS Joint Laboratory for Cyber Security. 

With mobile data roaming, telcos may route traffic so the user appears to be on a Singapore IP address while physically overseas, he said.

“As such, the app owner is generally better placed to implement additional safeguards,” he added, noting that telcos cannot always determine the true origin of internet traffic or which applications a user is accessing.

Such safeguards could include supplementing IP address checks with other forms of geolocation verification, including a device’s GPS location, to confirm whether a user is physically in Singapore, Prof Chan said.

As for whether users placing bets on the app could fall foul of the Gambling Control Act, legal experts said the law does cover users, such as through provisions preventing minors from gambling, but that these do not apply here.

Dr Ben Chester Cheong, law lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that since Singapore Pools is a licensed operator, provisions concerning gambling with an unlawful operator would not apply.