Self-exclusion is an important part of any gambling harm reduction strategy – and, it is important that players can exclude themselves from a wide range of gambling venues. Recently, government officials in Singapore have made major improvements to their self-exclusion program by extending it from casinos to all types of gambling venues across the country.
At the moment, the government’s self-exclusion program is only operational at the country’s two casinos: Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. 153 00 players have excluded themselves from these casinos thus far, and we will see many more when the program is extended. Once the bill is passed, the self-exclusion program will apply at other types of venues, such as ‘jackpot clubs’ and bookmakers.
To begin with, 21 of 73 venues will be included in the program. 12 operators started with the program this week and nine others will join in August. By the end of the year, several more venues will be added to the self-exclusion program. Having a centralised system for self-exclusion will be to the benefit of problem gamblers by allowing them to exclude themselves from several venues at once.
When a compulsive gambler excludes themselves from just one venue, they have the option of playing at any other venue nearby. Since they are able to ban themselves from multiple venues at once, they have a better chance of being able to kick their addiction.
“Although gambling venues under the Responsible Gambling Code offered some form of self-exclusion to their patrons, applications were independent of each venue,” says Patric Liew of the Responsible Gambling Forum. “A centralised system will make it more accessible and convenient for individuals to exclude themselves from multiple venues at one go.”
Singapore’s new program is similar the one that is in place at Clubs Australia venues. Players can exclude themselves from more than one venue at once in a convenient manner, helping them to stay away from the temptation of gambling.
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