In Singapore, the lottery has long been used as a means to raise funds for government projects. The state’s aims in this regard have been to starve the criminal underworld of its revenue source and promote gambling for public good. This is a delicate balance since the state cannot be seen as promoting gambling or profiting excessively from it.
The lottery is conducted by the statutory body the Tote Board, which governs the Lottery Operator Singapore Pools and the horse race operator Singapore Turf Club. The former conducts the lotteries comprising 4-D, Toto and Singapore Sweep, while the latter offers sports betting on association football and motor racing. The total amount of money spent on bets on these games in the financial year that ended in March 2023 was $10.3 billion, a figure that surpassed the previous record of $9.2 billion set in the last decade.
Singapore Pools (Private) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tote Board and the only legal bookmaker and totalisator for association football and motor racing betting in the country. You can place your bets at any of the outlets or through their online platform, PoolzConnect. When you buy a ticket, ensure that it is a valid one by checking the logo, entry type, your choice of numbers, draw date, security number and barcode on it. Besides that, you can also check the prize group, whether it is for the ordinary or special prizes.
In the case of the special prizes, you can only claim one of them (e.g., the winner of Prize Group 1 can only claim S$10,000). However, if there are no winners of the ordinary prizes in the particular draw, then the accumulated prize is carried forward or otherwise known as snowballled for the next draw.
You can use your mobile phone to play the lottery at any of the Singapore Pools outlets and their online platforms. The mobile application is easy to navigate and allows you to place your bets on the go, anytime and anywhere. You can also track the latest winnings and check out upcoming draws. The app is free to download and works on both Apple and Android devices.
As a player, you must be above the age of 18 years to participate in the game. You must also pay the gambling duty to IRAS, which is set at 10% of the amount wagered. You are required to file your gambling return by the 15th day of the month after the last day of the month in which you conduct your betting activities. Failure to do so will result in enforcement actions by IRAS. You can avoid the risk of prosecution by filing a composition amount instead.