Levelling the Playing Field

PHOTO & GRAPHIC: Amber Qua

When you think of casinos, scenes of gambling, games and entertainment usually come to mind. But have you ever wondered who ensures that casinos operate fairly?

Behind the buzzing gaming floors is a critical level of oversight dedicated to safeguarding gaming integrity. This work is helmed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority’s (GRA) Compliance Division, where Compliance Manager Sherrie Tio works with licensed casino operators to ensure their gambling operations adhere to regulatory requirements. 

Sherrie’s day includes work such as reviewing reports and licensee applications to ensure regulatory adherence. PHOTO: Mabel Teow

Sherrie and her team also investigate potential breaches by operators and conduct on-site observations of the casino’s operations and processes.  

For Sherrie, this behind-the-scenes work is her daily contribution to safeguarding gaming integrity in the gambling sector. Originally an auditor, Sherrie was keen on pursuing a career in the Public Service.  A job posting at GRA caught her eye.

“The gaming industry presents an interesting regulatory challenge for me with an accounting background,” she reflected.

The prospect of applying her skills in a new and dynamic environment convinced her to apply and she joined the GRA in 2023.

Building bridges, not barriers

GRA engages casino operators through monthly meetings to clarify regulatory intent and understand their operational challenges. Given the complex operations and developing technology, GRA adopts an outcome-based approach, specifying the expected results rather than rigid rule adherence.

Sherrie and her colleague (left) meet casino operators regularly to find and discuss practical solutions. PHOTO: Amber Qua

“The objective is to ensure that the operators do not just comply with the spirit of the law but will work with us to ensure that GRA’s objective of safeguarding gaming integrity is met,” Sherrie said.

This collegial mindset has proven essential in addressing potential compliance issues before they escalated into actual breaches.

On one occasion, Sherrie’s team noticed a spike in entry and exit incidents at the casinos caused by facial recognition system delays, which meant required security checks might not have been carried out.

“We engaged the casino operator to understand the root causes and rectification measures they would take, such as implementing system enhancements,” Sherrie explained.

Another example is when Sherrie’s team noticed that patrons applied for self-exclusion while on the casino floor. Self-exclusion allows individuals to ban themselves from gambling activities for minimally one year. By remaining in the casinos after applying for self-exclusion, patrons would have inadvertently breached their exclusion bans.

“We engaged the casino operators to prominently display signage to inform patrons that such applications took immediate effect, as well as train their employees to advise patrons accordingly,” said Sherrie.

Tech trends and teamwork

Sherrie and her team regularly exchange insights from conferences, courses, exhibitions and industry engagements. PHOTOS: Amber Qua

Sherrie and her team stays up-to-date with emerging industry developments and trends by exchanging insights gained from attending courses, gaming conferencesand industry engagements.

This knowledge sharing extends to encouraging operators to leverage technology to better achieve GRA’s regulatory objectives and allows Sherrie and her team to engage meaningfully with the operators on their proposed solutions such as using AI-trained systems to detect “past posting” at tables. It refers to players placing or increasing bets after the game outcome is known. While GRA supports such initiatives, they also assess whether these technologies are robust and secure.

“Compliance checks are not foolproof and cannot catch every instance of non-compliance,” she said. “Over the years, we have focused on working with operators to strengthen their compliance mindset so that compliance becomes second nature and that they continue to do the right thing even when GRA is not looking. While much of what we do happens behind the scenes, our work supports the Home Team mission of keeping Singapore safe.”