Crypto Betting Rules Across Asia: Singapore, Japan and the Philippines Compared

In Singapore, placing a bet on an unlicensed website can bring a fine of up to SGD 10,000. In Japan, police acted against 317 people for online gambling in 2025, most of them players. In the Philippines, the central bank ordered e-wallets to remove gambling links within 48 hours in August 2025.

Three Asian markets, three very different approaches. Singapore licenses a single online operator, Japan allows only public sports betting, and the Philippines licenses local online gaming while banning offshore operators.

Each country also regulates crypto separately, and those rules shape how players and platforms move money.

Three Markets Side by Side

Offshore gambling faces restrictions in each of these markets, with very different enforcement tools. The table sets the main rules next to each other.

Last verified: October 2026

Licensing changes what a platform must do for players, from complaint routes to protection tools. Our explainer on what changes when a casino holds a licence sets out those obligations.

Singapore Licenses One Online Operator

Singapore's Gambling Control Act took effect on August 1, 2022, and created the Gambling Regulatory Authority under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Singapore Pools holds the only licence for remote gambling.

Players who use unlicensed sites face fines of up to SGD 10,000, up to six months in jail, or both. 

Operators, including those based abroad that serve people in Singapore, face fines of up to SGD 500,000 and seven years, rising for repeat offences. Since January 2025, police have blocked unlawful gambling sites, apps, ads and payments.

Crypto firms face tight rules too. The Monetary Authority of Singapore bars digital payment token providers from accepting local credit cards or offering sign-up incentives, and since June 2025 Singapore-based firms serving only overseas customers need a licence that MAS grants rarely.

Japan Allows Public Sports, Bans Online Casinos

Japan's Penal Code treats gambling as a crime unless a specific law allows it. Horse racing, boat racing, keirin, auto racing and the toto football pools operate under their own laws, and several offer online betting through member accounts.

Online casinos remain illegal for anyone playing from Japan, even when the operator holds a foreign licence, and a 2016 Fukuoka court confirmed that view. Enforcement has risen, with 317 people acted against in 2025, the highest figure since 2018.

Japan amended its Basic Act on Measures Against Gambling Addiction, with the changes in force from September 25, 2025. It bans running online casino sites for Japanese users, listing their apps, posting links, advertising and affiliate promotion. Japan's first casino resort, in Osaka, targets an opening around 2030.

Crypto rules are moving as well. The Diet passed a bill in July 2026 that brings crypto under financial instruments law, with tougher penalties for unregistered operators.

The Philippines Licenses Locally, Banned Offshore Operators

PAGCOR, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, licenses local online gaming, with e-games operators paying 30% of gross gaming revenue since January 2025. Players must be 21 at PAGCOR-registered sites.

President Marcos announced a ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators in July 2024, and an executive order required them to close by December 31, 2024. 

In August 2025, the central bank ordered regulated e-wallets such as GCash and Maya to remove gambling icons and links within 48 hours.

Lawmakers have filed several bills to ban or tighten online gambling, and all of them were still pending in late 2025. On crypto, the SEC issued rules in May 2025 requiring crypto service providers to hold a licence and a local office, while the central bank keeps a freeze on new virtual asset licences.

Player Liability Differs Across the Three

Singapore and Japan both penalise players, not just operators. Singapore's law sets fines and jail terms for using unlicensed sites, and Japanese police count players among those charged under the Penal Code.

The Philippines targets operators and payment channels more directly, while restricting access through e-wallet controls and site blocking. In each country, offshore crypto platforms fall outside local licensing.

Licence checks before any deposit take a few minutes. Our guide to verifying a licence walks through the register steps.

Regulators also examine operators in different depth. Our look at the checks that separate licensed casinos covers what supervisors review.

Dexsport Outside Asian Licensing

Dexsport operates through Dexapp LTD under an Anjouan licence and falls outside the approval of gambling authorities in Singapore, Japan or the Philippines. Residents of those countries should use only locally licensed or authorised options.

Outside those markets, Dexsport sets its age floor at 18, higher where national law says so, and its terms allow identity checks at any stage. The operator also excludes residents of Russia and Belarus.

Anjouan's regulator has stressed that its licence stops where local law forbids gambling, so national rules always come before Dexsport's own account terms.

Conclusion

Singapore, Japan and the Philippines each restrict online gambling in their own way. Singapore licenses only Singapore Pools and penalises players on unlicensed sites, Japan allows public sports betting while banning online casino promotion since September 2025, and the Philippines licenses local e-games after removing offshore operators.

Crypto supervisors in the three countries concentrate on exchanges and service providers, leaving offshore betting outside any licence. Penalties, payment controls and site blocking target unlicensed platforms.

Residents should stick to locally authorised operators. Readers abroad need to follow the rules of their own country, stay within legal age limits and accept that KYC or AML checks may apply.

Disclaimer: The information here is provided for general purposes only and is not legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Gambling and crypto laws in Singapore, Japan and the Philippines change often, and the offshore platform named here is not licensed in any of them. Check the law where you live before you gamble. Gambling involves risk, so please play responsibly, within your means, and only if you are of legal age.