The Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) in Singapore wants to know how to improve risk management associated with the gaming industry. As it moves closer to determining how best to proceed in being able to identify gamblers who might be prone to attempts at sidestepping regulations, one possible option is to compile available data from different sources to try to build a clear picture. 
Josephine Teo, Singapore’s Second Minister for Home Affairs and its Minister of Manpower says that the CRA is exploring data mining as potentially the best alternative; however, data mining and invasion of privacy often go hand-in-hand.
Speaking during this week’s 5th Singapore Symposium on Gambling Regulation and Crime, Teo explained that the CRA “exploring how data analytics can be used to gain insights on the risk profiles of patrons and identify characteristics of patrons who pose regulatory risks… Such insights can be used to support policy development and enhance CRA’s risk management.”
She added, “We are… working closely with the casinos in Singapore to implement measures to help patrons make informed decisions about gambling. Some measures being studied include providing patrons with notifications on amount and time spent in the casinos, and encouraging patrons to voluntarily set caps on expenditure and duration of play.”
Teo didn’t go into detail about how the data might be gathered and to whom it would be made accessible. However, perhaps the country will rely on a friend. Facebook is the world leader in data mining, and data sharing, and opened an office in Singapore last year – its first partner center in Asia Pacific.
The symposium saw participation from the international gaming community, drawing the leaders of regulatory agencies from the U.S., Macau and Singapore. It was designed to focus on the changing environment and regulatory hurdles of the gambling industry, in particular as they relate to the growth of online gaming.
Teo discussed “two key challenges” with the regulators, which she may not have realized is actually just one challenge. Online gambling is on the rise and younger generations – Millennials and Generation X-ers – are no longer as interested in traditional gambling offerings. That’s two ways to say the same thing. Put more succinctly, online gambling is on the rise because the younger generations aren’t turning to the traditional choices.
Because of the increase, Teo believes that new regulations may be in order. She concluded, “Such new products across various modes of gambling or gaming will certainly require us to put on our thinking hats, and probably take a look at the new laws that we need to put in place to regulate. Regulators and law enforcement agencies need to keep up to date with these developments and make sure our policies and rules remain effective.”
