Singaporeans are bothered by gambling SMS promotions

Residents of Singapore are receiving unsolicited gambling advertisements. The messages appearing on their phones are offering online gambling, “easy” loans and may be abetting illegal activities, according to the local privacy watchdog.

From January until September 8,800 public complaints regarding text message spam promoting unauthorised online gambling services and financial loans were received by Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission.

Even though the percentage of complaints dropped down by 18% comparing to the same period in 2015, the messages account for 80% of all complaints received by the Commission.

It is noted that the actual number of messages received is likely much higher, but many Singaporeans simply did not file a complaint. The watchdog is urging the public to file a report whenever they receive an SMS or call related to loans or online gambling from an unsolicited source.

International online gambling sites started getting blocked in Singapore in February 2015. There was no progress done until October this year, when the local sports lottery provider Singapore Pools was authorised to launch an online site. Shortly after that another site was launched by the Singapore Turf Club.