In the 1960s, a newly independent Singapore started on the road of nationhood. Back then, there was a serious problem of triads and illegal gambling syndicates. It was against this backdrop that Singapore Pools (Private) Limited was set up by the government on 23 May 1968.

The following are the milestones of Singapore Pools:

2024

  • Recognised as a Company of Good - Three Hearts by National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre for the commitment at national level towards corporate purpose and contributing to five key impact areas: Society, People, Governance, Environment, and Economy.
  • Conferred the Culture of Acceptance, Respect and Empathy (CARE) Award at the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Awards 2024 for adopting a holistic approach towards employee well-being for our diverse and multi-generational workforce.
  • Achieved Green Mark Building Super Low Energy (SLE) status from Building and Construction Authority with over 60% energy savings.
  • Signed MOU between Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore Pools for the launch of the new Certification in Business Digitalisation and Transformation Programme.
  • Awarded the Tricentis 2023 APAC Customer Innovation Awards, receiving the Trailblazer Award for pioneering the integration of continuous testing into non-functional testing, propelling development cycles.

 

2023

  • Awarded with National Workplace Learning Certification (Gold) Award from the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning (NACE) on 25 October, reflecting our commitment to continuous skill and knowledge enhancement.  
  • Recognized at the 16th Singapore HR Awards on 25 October by Singapore Human Resource Institute (SHRI), receiving the Employee Experience & Well-being (Gold) Award and Talent Management (Bronze) Award for our exemplary human resource and people management practices. 
  • Supported The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) with a $250,000 training grant, empowering union members with access to training programs for skill enhancement. 
  • Awarded with 2023 Human Resource Directors Asia 5-Star Employers of Choice, acknowledging our dedication to employee benefits, compensation, culture, development, diversity, and inclusion. 
  • 13 of our Customer Service and Customer Experience staff won the Excellent Service Award by Singapore Retailer’s Association Excellent Service Award 2023, recognising individuals who have delivered quality service.  
  • Received the Volunteer Partner and Charity Bronze Award from Community Chest Awrad 2023 for the dedication and enthusiasm of our staff volunteers in providing support to the underserved communities. 
  • Supported Civilians Association Singapore (CAS) with $300,000, contributing to their youth development and sports programme and to recognised the commendable efforts of individuals at the Singapore Silent Hero 2023 Award. 
  • Supported in the building of The Lighthouse @ Punggol, Singapore’s first child and youth centric hub with $350,000  
  • Achieved the bizSAFE Level 2 by the Workplace Safety and Health Council, affirming our strong workplace safety and risk management systems in the company. 
  • Singapore Pools Account supports PayNow deposit and withdrawal.  
  • All Singapore Pools’ branches closed for the second time since inception for the Community Day, where 400 volunteers alongside 300 beneficiaries from 14 community partners came together and everyone had an enjoyable day out at Gardens by the Bay as we celebrated 20 years of our staff volunteerism programme at the same time.  The event was graced by Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo.  
  • The 55th Anniversary dinner was also held at Gardens by the Bay on 23rd May, graced by then-Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam 
  • Received Gold for Best Use of CX Technology at the CX Asia Excellence Award, honoring highest level of achievement in customer experience.  

 

2022

  • Successfully transited from an Exempt Operator under the Gambling Regulatory Unit (GRU) to be a Licensed Operator under the Gambling Regulatory Authority for both our terrestrial and remote operations on 25 October 2022.   
  • Implementation of key green initiatives including the purchase of two electric vans (EVs) in November 2021 as part of a pilot programme to decrease oil consumption, reduce carbon emissions and save costs. In March 2022, we completed the installation of a new solar panel system comprising nearly 130 modules on the rooftop of the Singapore Pools building.
  • Received the Best Flagship Responsible Gaming Award - Level 4 for our submission on "My Gaming Profie - Nudging Players Towards Safer Play" at the World Lottery Summity 2022 in Vancover.
  • Received the SHARE Bronze Award at the Community Chest Awards 2022, for our contributions to the Community Chest SHARE programme. 
  • Launched the Myinfo and identiface for Singapore Pools Account registration to ensure that users information is true to identity. 
  • Recertified with BCA’s Gold Plus award on 16 Dec 2022, as part of our continuous effort to keep Singapore Pools building green.
  • Recertified with Eco Office Plus on 13 Oct 2022, this certified our effort of implementing effective environmentally friendly practices which in turn help to reduce the wastage of paper, water and electricity in our building.  
  • The Singapore Pools Building obtained SG Clean certification in July 2022 upon meeting all sanitation and hygiene checklist put out by the National Environment Agency.  
  • iShine Cloud, a charity set up by Singapore Pools, has onboarded 24 new charities and more than 400 new users. A total of 2263 users were using the service provided by iShine Cloud, allowing charities top ut focus on delivering service to their benefieciaries with the digital aspect taken care of. iShine Cloud was also recognised as an Institution of Public Character (IPC) by the Commissioner of Charities in January 2022.
  • Supported Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s Digital for Life Festival with $100,000 to show our support in galvanising the community and helping citizens of all ages and walks of life to embrace digital learning as a lifelong pursuit. The event focuses on digital technology and inclusion, as well as digital literacy and wellness, which is align to our effort in digitalisation.

 

2021

  • Set a record high of 70% staff volunteerism rate in FY20/21, with close to 11,000 volunteering hours clocked by 576 staff.
  • Received the Charity Silver Award from Community Chest for our contributions towards the social service sector to care for the less fortunate in the community.
  • Awarded the Employee Engagement (Silver), Digital Transformation (Bronze) and Learning & Development (Bronze) at the 15th Singapore HR Awards. Organised by the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), the Awards recognise and celebrate the efforts, agility, and resilience of organisations in 2020 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Singapore Pools Academy, the human capital development unit of Singapore Pools, extended learning resources to support social service organisations and charities in developing their human capital through purposeful training initiatives, in alignment with Singapore Pools' commitment to uplifting the community. 

 

2020

  • Launched the iShine Volunteers mobile application in August. The mobile app aims to provide a seamless iShine experience to volunteers and connect them with volunteering opportunities with ease. Volunteers can volunteer anytime anywhere and notifications will be sent directly to them.
  • Awarded the Employer of Choice Award 2020 by Human Resources Director Asia in August. Singapore Pools has proven success in making the company as a great place to work in. The practices in recruiting, engaging and retaining staff achieved a best-in-class standard. 
  • Awarded the  SkillsFuture Employer Award in July. This award is a tripartite initiative that recognises employers who have invested significant efforts in their employees’ skills development and demonstrated exemplary support for SkillsFuture efforts. It is a testament to our company’s efforts in building a lifelong learning culture in our workplace and our contribution to the national SkillsFuture movement.
  • Awarded the SHARE (Silver) and Community Spirit (Gold) in recognition of our support towards the charities supported by the Community Chest.
  • Became one of the members in the World Tote Association to promote and advocate for responsible gaming within the horseracing and equestrian industries and promote positive customer experience via technology.   

 

2019

  • Conferred the Total Defence  – NS Advocate Award 2019 in October. The NS Advocate Award is the highest accolade awarded to individuals or organisations for their exemplary support towards Total Defence.
  • Achieved re-certification to Level 4 of the World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Framework in Jul, the highest global standard of responsible gaming.
  • Recognised as SkillsFuture Advice Partner by South West CDC in April. This is in support of the SkillsFuture movement and having partnered with the South West CDC to implement ways to encourage lifelong learning among their staff.
  • Took over the horse betting management and operations on 7 Jan from Singapore Turf Club.

 

2018

  • Launched an eBetslip app on 18 Sep that allows cash customers to track their betting expenses. eBetslip will replace the physical paper bet slip which is currently used for bet placement at the outlets.
  • Awarded NS Mark (Gold) accreditation on 31 Jul in recognition of Singapore Pools' support towards National Service and Total Defence.
  • Launched of iShine Cloud, a collaborative non-profit IT social enterprise between Singapore Pools and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) at the Social Service Summit on 25 Jul to provide a suite of social service sector-specific software via a secured cloud-based platform at a subsidised rate.
  • Revamp of the Singapore Sweep tickets on 5 July, with new look and game play. New Sweep tickets resemble that of 4D and Toto, printed on-demand basis, with new selection formats that allow players to choose either the first or last four digits of their set of seven-digit numbers. In addition, launch of the 100 Sweep also took place on the same day. Players can buy 100 sets of numbers in running sequence with the last two digits ranging from 00 to 99.
  • The golden jubilee's celebration culminated in a 50th Anniversary Dinner held at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach on 21 May where the Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat was guest-of-honour.
  • To celebrate its golden jubilee, Singapore Pools closed all its branches for the first time at 1:30pm on 15 May to allow 300 of its staff to volunteer in 6 different community events around the island on Mega iShine Day.
  • Launched of Singapore Pools' mobile app on 10 May to provide a secure and integrated platform for all online services as part of an on-going journey to digitalise cash customers.

 

2016

  • Co-hosted the World Lottery Summit from 6 to 9 Nov, the second time in 10 years.
  • Launched an enhanced Singapore Pools Account service on 25 Oct that allows customers to place bets online.

 

2015

  • Achieved re-certification to Level 4 of the World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Framework, the highest global standard of responsible gaming in Dec.
  • Launched iTOTO and Group TOTO, two new ways to share a bet, on 17 Nov.
  • Achieved highest standard for information security management system and integrity controls (WLA-SCS:2012 and IEC/ISO27001:2013).

 

2014

  • Changed the TOTO game to a ‘6-out-of-49’ format.
  • Awarded international accreditation for high standard of information security and integrity controls.

2013

  • Achieved the SS 564 Green Data Centre Standard, and became one of the pioneer organisations in Singapore to be recognised for its energy efficent Data Centre.
 
  • Won BCA Green Mark GoldPlus Award for Singapore Pools Building.
 
  • Officially opened the 12-storey Singapore Pools Building at Middle Road on 28 April.

 

2012

 
  • Achieved Level 4 of the World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Framework, the highest global standard of responsible gaming.

 

2010

 
  • Launched premium sports betting venues, Livewire (Resorts World Sentosa) and Livewire (Marina Bay Sands). Livewire (RWS) ceased its operation in 2023.

 

2008

 
  • Offered sports betting on Formula One races.

 

2007

 
  • Opened first sports betting venue at PoMo (former Paradiz Centre) to offer 'live' betting.
  • Launched first Responsible Gaming Programme.

 

2006

 
  • Co-hosted the World Lottery Association Convention and Trade Show, which was held for the first time in Asia.

 

2005

  • Launched telephone betting.

 

2004

  • Introduced Scratchit!, a scratch-n-win game.
  • Became a subsidiary of Tote Board, took over Singapore Turf Club branches and started conducting 4D Draws.

 

2003

  • Launched iShine, the staff community programme.
  • Received the highest honour by Community Chest (ComChest) for Singapore Pools' unwavering support and commitment to ComChest.


2002

  • Launched international football betting.

 

2000

  • Renamed 4D-Sweep to 4D Draw.
  • Conducted the first TOTO Hongbao Draw, reaching a jackpot prize of $11m.
  • Moved office to Paradiz Centre at Selegie Road.

 

1999

 
  • Launched football betting on the S.League in support of professional football development in Singapore.


1997

  • Changed the TOTO game to a ‘6 out-of 45’ format.


1992

  • Inaugurated 4D-Sweep, a 4D game based on the Singapore Sweep draw results.

 

1988

  • Changed the format of TOTO from ‘5-out-of-49’ to ‘6-out-of-42’.
  • Moved office to International Plaza.
 

1986

 
  • Launched 4-Digit number game and moved from manual operations to computerised gaming system.

 

1980

  • Became subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

 

1972

  • Moved from first office in Percival Road to Columbo Court.

 

1969

 
  • Introduced Singapore Sweep with $400,000 as the first prize.
  • Introduced TOTO which was sold from standalone booths.

 

1968

 
  • Introduced TOTO which was sold from standalone booths.