SINGAPORE: Singapore police reported on Wednesday evening that they had arrested four people on illegal gambling charges on Geylang Road near the business district in the city. Those arrested had set up an illegal gambling facility in the back of a shop on the street known for its illicit activities. The arrests occurred on Tuesday evening, police said. The men arrested were reportedly between the ages of 25- and 60-years old. The 37-year-old suspect and one other suspect will be charged in court on Thursday, local media said. Investigations against the remaining suspects are ongoing. If found guilty of managing a place to be used as a common gaming house, they face a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000 and a jail term of up to three years. Singapore on Friday announced that as a result of last month's move to add 15,000 persons to a list of those barred from entering the city-state's two casinos, and added that it would amend the Casino Control Act, the government said in a statement. Among the proposals are amendments that would restrict the number of visits to the two gaming locations in the country, Channel NewsAsia said in its report. According to government officials, families and individuals can apply for a “visit limit" under the amendment. It comes as the government looks to change its 6-year old casino law in order to combat “criminal activities, strengthen social safeguards and improve tax administration," according to the statement on the Ministry of Home Affair's website. “With the benefit of practical experience in regulating and managing the casinos over the past two years, a review of the casino regulatory regime and the Casino Control Act is therefore timely," according to the statement. The new bans came into affect on July 1 and include residents who receive financial aid from the government, the ministry of community development, youth and sports said in a statement last month. Another 3,000 public-housing residents will also be barred from entering the casinos as they are recipients of subsidized rentals. “We want to protect the financially vulnerable who can ill afford casino gambling," acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing said in the statement, citing a 2011 official survey that showed an increasing proportion of low-income gamblers in Singapore playing with large sums. These new casino exclusions add to the 28,000 people already barred on government orders from Singapore's casinos—Genting Singapore PLC's Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Marina Bay Sands.
