Verification Checks to Ensure Compliance with Age Restriction for Entry into Arcades
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns arcade age restrictions and gambling safeguards, with Mr Yip Hon Weng inquiring about verification checks, prize regulations, and the disclosure of winning odds. Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam stated that operators must verify that those under 16 are not admitted during school hours and announced that prize values will be capped at under $100 starting 1 March 2024. The Ministry will also prohibit cash or voucher prizes and prize sell-backs to mitigate gambling risks, though it will not mandate displaying winning odds due to the potential regulatory burden. Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam noted that while student spending data is not available, the Ministry will collaborate with the Ministry of Education to remind students of entry restrictions. These measures are enforced through licensing conditions under the Public Entertainments Act to ensure compliance and protect vulnerable youths from gambling inducement.
Transcript
12 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry will consider (i) implementing age verification checks in arcades to ensure compliance with the entry restrictions of those under 16 years old and (ii) collaborating with the Ministry of Education to educate students on the underlying rationale of such restrictions; (b) whether data on the number of school-going youths who frequent arcades and their average expenditure is available; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider mandating the disclosure of data on the probability of winning top-tier prizes in chance-based arcade games.
Mr K Shanmugam: To reduce the risk of truancy during school hours, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) requires amusement centre operators to conduct verification checks to ensure that persons below 16 years old are not admitted on a school day, except between 6.30 pm and 11.59 pm. The operators are also required to display signs at prominent locations within their premises to notify customers of the entry restrictions.
These requirements are imposed as licensing conditions under their Public Entertainment Licence. Operators who fail to comply may be subject to regulatory action under the Public Entertainments Act.
MHA does not track the number of students who patronise amusement centres, or the amount spent at the centres.
We have observed that, increasingly, games being offered in amusement centres have elements of chance, and high-value prizes are being offered. This may increase the risk of gambling inducement, in particular, with vulnerable persons, such as youths.
To reduce this risk, from 1 March 2024, MHA will restrict the value of prizes for amusement centre games to less than $100. We will also prohibit operators of amusement centres from offering cash, cash equivalents, credit or merchant vouchers as prizes, as well as the sell-back of prizes to the operators.
We do not intend to require operators to display the odds of winning the games. Doing so may impose undue regulatory burden on the operators, which may not be proportionate to the gambling risks of such games. In addition, many of the games, such as "coin pushers", do not have clearly defined odds.
MHA will continue to monitor and review the safeguards against gambling inducement risks in such games.
As suggested by the Member, we will work with the Ministry of Education to remind students about the entry restrictions into amusement centres.