SINGAPORE – The amount spent betting on lotteries and sports such as football in Singapore totalled $10.3 billion in the financial year ended March 2023, according to the Tote Board’s annual report released on Thursday.
Fuelled by the World Cup, which took place from November to December 2022 in Qatar, the amount wagered in the financial year was 12 per cent more than in the previous year, when punters placed $9.2 billion in bets.
The latest amount is the largest sum placed on these bets in the last decade, and even trumped the financial year that ended in March 2019, which also featured a World Cup.
That year, a record sum of $8.1 billion was wagered, although that record was broken in the financial year that ended in March 2022, after the Republic began to lift Covid-19 restrictions.
The Tote Board’s report did not give a breakdown of the bets placed on the different lotteries and games, such as 4-D, Toto, football or motor racing.
When contacted, a spokesman for Singapore Pools – the only licensed operator of lotteries and sports betting services here – said: “We are unable to reveal the statistics requested as these are commercial in confidence.
“However, World Cup 2022, being one of the first major global sporting events since the pandemic, garnered interest from sporting fans and the bets collected are in line with the interest.”
Besides Singapore Pools, the Tote Board also oversees horse racing operator Singapore Turf Club, which is slated to hold its final race in October 2024, before it shutters its doors for good by March 2027 to make way for land redevelopment.
About $1.1 billion was wagered on horse races, with the Tote Board’s financial statement indicating that it would reassess the impact of the closure accordingly as activities progressively wind down over the next few years.
“As the contribution from Singapore races to the group’s income is not significant, the facility’s closure is not expected to significantly impact the financial performance of the group for the next 12 months,” it said.
Meanwhile, in the last financial year, $147 million in casino entry levies was collected, or 17 per cent more than the $125 million collected in the year before.
The daily casino entry levy for Singaporeans and permanent residents is $150 a person.
The increase in casino entry levies collected coincides with Singapore reopening its borders to all fully vaccinated travellers on April 1, 2022, before it completely eased all restrictions imposed on international travellers on Feb 13, 2023.
