SINGAPORE; An overseas-based gambling website has continued to recruit individuals in Singapore to set up shell companies to facilitate bets, amid efforts to make South-east Asia a hub for punters.
Curacao-based GemBet is said to be operated by a gambling syndicate with links to groups in Cyprus.
The only licensed operator for lotteries, sports betting and remote gambling services in Singapore is Singapore Pools. All other operators, whether online or offline, are illegal.
The Straits Times learnt that GemBet circumvents the rules by hiring individuals in Singapore to issue fake invoices for goods and services to punters. The money is then deposited into digital wallets linked to the gambling website.
One invoice seen by ST showed an $80 payment to a Singapore-registered company operating from a residential address in Punggol. The invoice claimed that the payment was for pre-owned gaming equipment.
Corporate records revealed that the company, registered in April by a 19-year-old woman, is actually a wholesale trading business. Its secondary business activity involves connecting buyers with third-party food sellers for a commission.
Her LinkedIn page identified her as a tertiary student. No one answered the door when ST visited the flat on Nov 4.
GemBet made headlines in July during the FIFA World Cup, when ST reported that the website was funnelling bets and payouts through PayNow transactions involving three local companies registered earlier in 2026.
The firms included a manpower company, a cleaning services provider and a wholesale trader.
Nine people were arrested a week after the report.
Six are suspected of setting up business entities and corporate bank accounts believed to have been used to facilitate financial transactions for illegal gambling, while three are alleged to have assisted the syndicate behind GemBet in obtaining these entities and bank accounts.
Following the arrests, panic spread through a Telegram group with more than 2,600 members, as punters feared they would be targeted by the police.
Some punters said their bank accounts had been frozen as a result of the police investigation.
In response, individuals in Singapore began issuing fake invoices in an attempt to disguise illegal gambling transactions as payments for legitimate services.
The invoices were issued by companies such as a handicrafts retailer and an interior design firm.
The operational force behind the offshore gambling platform appears to be a Europe-based firm named Ludicrum Tech, whose representative signed off on GemBet's licence application.
A job opening for a remote payment operator in South-east Asia shed light on how the company recruits individuals in the region to manage financial flows.
The listing on Ludicrum Tech's website specified working hours based on Central European Time. Candidates were also required to state their salary expectations in euros.
The role involved processing incoming and outgoing payments, although the purpose of these transactions was not specified.
ST applied for the position, stating that the applicant was based in Singapore, and was directed to submit video responses to interview questions. However, the application process was not completed.
The listing had been deleted as at Nov 6. Ludicrum Tech did not respond to ST's queries.
ST has learnt that a company called Grand Complications is linked to GemBet, although little public information about it is available.
However, ST was able to examine its records in leaked confidential documents relating to thousands of online casinos registered on the Caribbean island of Curacao.
An online gaming licence application submitted to the Curacao Gaming Control Board showed that Grand Complications had applied to register GemBet.
The document showed that GemBet accepts several currencies, including the Singapore dollar, Malaysian ringgit, Thai baht, Vietnamese dong and Indonesian rupiah, as well as the US dollar and euro. It also accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Transactions are made through platforms such as PayNow and DuitNow, or using cryptocurrencies.
In a separate document outlining Grand Complications' business plans, the company described itself as an online casino operator "dedicated to transforming the gaming experience in the South-east Asian market", highlighting its focus on the region.
It claimed to "understand the cultural nuances and regulatory landscape of the area". Most South-east Asian countries prohibit online gambling.
The job opening for a payment processor in South-east Asia was advertised in late October but has since been deleted.
Authorities across the region have been tackling illegal gambling by targeting punters and their bank accounts, among other measures.
On Nov 6, Indonesia's Financial Services Authority instructed commercial banks to block 39,923 bank accounts linked to illicit online gambling operations. The move came amid a nationwide crackdown on cyber-betting networks, which has resulted in more than four million gambling-related items of content being removed from the internet.
In Singapore, the police block access to unlawful remote gambling services, advertisements for such services and related payment transactions. The police took over these responsibilities from the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) in 2025.
More than 3,400 illegal gambling websites, over 260 bank accounts and more than $36 million in payments linked to illegal remote gambling services had been blocked by the GRA as at Dec 31, 2024, before the authority handed over some of its functions to the police.
Bets placed on websites such as GemBet are illegal and carry heavy penalties in Singapore.
Under the Gambling Control Act, those found guilty of illegal gambling can face up to seven years in jail and a fine of up to $500,000. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to $700,000.
Individuals found to have placed bets with an unlicensed service provider can be jailed for up to six months and/or fined up to $10,000. - Straits Times/ANN
