http://www.gamesinasia.com/singapor...-bill-a-huge-step-back-for-the-games-industry http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/slw/attachments/48805/1409-03 Remote gambling.pdf I wanted to take the liberty to share this piece of news. If this bill gets passed, there might be implications on the future of Arkadia, since Arkadia Studios is based in Singapore. "Once the Bill is passed and the law takes effect, remote gambling will be rendered illegal in Singapore unless the specific exemptions apply. The provisions of the Bill not only affect individuals based in Singapore, but also extend extra-territorially to cover remote gambling operators and their agents based locally and abroad." It's questionable if there will be clamp down on Arkadia though, since it's a project supported and funded by the Media Development Authority of Singapore, the government body responsible for media regulation.
No EU infrastructure runs in Singapore. Arkadia Studios can fairly easily relocate if necessary. It already has some staff working from Sweden and Dave often telecommutes from Australia. So I don't really see this as a problem.
Uh-oh, that doesn't sound any good. Just a quote from the first link: Entropia/ Arkadia as a "game of chance": check; "playing for money('s worth)": check. Also bad, very bad for the Ark. Team. I hope to hear from David or any other of the Ark.Team what this might mean for the future. :shocked:
As KJ said very little is actually handled in Singapore anymore. Not going to go into too many details as I dont know if Dave told me 'off record'. As for the company itself -I'm guessing its still a company registered in Singapore-there may be some charges and fees etc in moving the company off shore and re-registering in another country but as for physically relocating offices/staff etc. that should have little to no effect.
I would like to point out, that getting even a small group of people to move out of their home country away from all of their family and friends that they have been around for their whole life does not have "little to no effect" on the people involved. Remember, these are people with families, friends, and connections in their home.
I agree completely hence why most of the work is no longer in Singapore allowing most of the staff to return to their respective countries/Families. Perhaps I wasn't clear...The work that is still being done in Singapore can quite easily be done from anywhere in the world and would not necessarily mean relocating any staff. Its the red tape and bureaucracy that would be the biggest issue.
Another update. The bill has been passed. http://www.straitstimes.com/news/si...remote-gambling-bill-passed-some-mps-express- SINGAPORE - The Remote Gambling Bill was passed in Parliament on Tuesday, in spite of a more than three hour debate involving 10 Members of Parliament, during which a number expressed reservations against the allowance for exemptions under the law.Three Workers' Party MPs who spoke - Mr Png Eng Huat (Hougang), Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) and Non-Constitutency MP Yee Jenn Jong - asked for the Bill to be placed before a Select Committee "to convince Singaporeans why it is necessary to tighten legislation for strong safeguards". Others, like PAP MP Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC), asked if the exemptions send a mixed signal by "legitimising the act of gambling and breeding its acceptance by legally providing for exempt licensed operators". Second Minister for Home Affairs S. Iswaran said that placing the Bill before a Select Committee was not necessary because it has already undergone public consultations. He said that the new regime is consistent with the prohibitive approach towards gambling and is "not new or unchartered territory". Under the law, applicants who want to apply for an online gambling licence have to meet strict criteria - be based in Singapore, be not for profit, contribute to a social cause, and have a good compliance track record. "When you look at our experience in terrestial gambling environment we seek to maintain law and order, criminalise range of activities and allowed for tight controls not because we wish to promote it or condone it," said Mr Iswaran, adding that exemptions were granted to allow the Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club to be set up in the 1960s amid triads and underground activity. "It is part of an ecosystem that minimises the law and order concerns and social consequences concerned about," he said, adding that the law provides enforcement agencies with the wherewithal to deal with the problems. Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing also weighed in, saying that his ministry will step up public education and awareness efforts. "We have to stay alert to the challenges that emerge every day and to stay abreast of the technological changes and to stay abreast of the evolving challenges," Mr Chan said. Mr Iswaran said the new law brings online gambling in line with laws for terrestrial gambling in Singapore: "We prohibit gambling, unless it is specifically allowed for by way of a stringently regulated exemption or license. We will adopt a similar approach to remote gambling." Illustrating the lucrative nature of remote gambling operations, Mr Iswaran earlier cited a recent Interpol operation during the Fifa World Cup when law enforcement agencies in six Asian countries, including Singapore, made more than 1,000 raids and 1,400 arrests. These organised crime syndicates had handled about US$2.2 billion (S$2.81 billion) worth of bets through illegal websites. He allayed concerns that the Bill could inadvertently affect social and video games. He said it would not as long as players "cannot convert in-game credits or tokens for money or real merchandise outside the game". Emphasising the need for broad laws, he said: "What may be benign today may appear more sinister tomorrow."
I don't think Dave will have an issue moving out of Singapore, including with the staff, if there are issues. Like Jod, I will not go into details either. But my impression is, if needed, Arkadia can be shifted within a month relatively easily.
It should be no problem because MA told us countless times that this virtual universe is more then a game but is not a place for gambling, lottery or chance, but it is the player's skill and ability to read the game that decides the result of being in the right place at the right time and this shall be the only thing that determines the avatar's performance in the game.
Sorry it's taken a few days to respond to this, had a few people pm me asking for a response. First up, this doesn't relate to Planet Arkadia so it won't affect us at all. As some have pointed out we are supported by the Media Development Authority of Singapore, so you can safely assume they know exactly what Arkadia is. In regards to relocating Arkadia, as has been pointed out above we are not physically tied to Singapore in a big way. All banking, administration and corporate activity is in Singapore, but most other work we do remotely. You already know that Lars and Mathias are based in Gothenburg, Chris and Dylan operate from South Africa, Liviu from Romania, John is in China and Mahesh is in India. These days due to family reasons I work mostly from Australia, travelling to Singapore as and when needed. With the nature of the business, so long as we have internet connection and room for a decent pc, any of us could work from a beach in Fiji if we wanted (and all staff are free to base themselves where ever they choose - all have chosen to be close to family rather than on a beach so far though). Productivity of the team has actually increased working this way, no one has to worry about commuting to work which saves lots of time each day. We use Dapulse as a central project management system and Skype for discussion. To be honest even I have been surprised at how communication has actually increased now compared to all sharing an office. The staff of Arkadia are a very happy bunch and very motivated. All work their own hours so can fit their work in around family commitments. I dare say a large majority of the community would love to have similar working conditions.
Thanks for the clarification David! It's also good and nice to read that the Ark.Team is doing so well, because most of you are seperated from each other. Keep up the good work guys!
Update from the "Games in Asia" website on this law... Here is an update from the "Games in Asia" website concerning the RGA, which apparently passed into law after a 3 hour debate by the MP's in Singapore... Thought that those who are following this issue might be interested in this new info... http://www.gamesinasia.com/singapores-anti-gambling-bill-will-not-affect-video-games/ Still not sure whether this could ultimately affect EU in general, since one of the portions of the law regards the exchange of virtual tokens/money/items for Real world money. As EU is advertised as a "Real World Economy", it sent red flags flashing through my head when I saw that part of the statement about this new and very questionable law. But hey, I can understand WHY they are doing this, even if I feel that A) they are going overboard with the ability to enter a person/company's property without a warrant... and B) They are simply pissed that they aren't getting THEIR portion of the money by way of taxes, which is probably a bigger part of the reason they are updating this law to go after internet based Gaming Companies and those that use them. The Idea that the money may be getting funneled back into Terrorist organizations is the same lame excuse that the good ole USA used for banning playing for real money on internet based Gaming Sites (Like PokerStars and others), even though gambling is LEGAL in many states, and taxed, both the companies providing the service, and any winnings that people get... (examples are the state Lotteries... and the interstate "Lotto" games) In any case... here's a quote from the update that I like, simply because he meant it one way, and I think it should be taken a different way... Of course, he was meaning that the in game conversion appears benign and may become more sinister... my thought is more along the lines of "The LAW in question appears Benign atm, but WILL become a more sinister and much abused by the officials in charge, kind of thing"
I wish arkadia's team was right, but *ahem* I'm from Singapore, I know how stupid and retarded the law can be become... above all that what is "written" in a bill can be used word for word... if the bill states " He allayed concerns that the Bill could inadvertently affect social and video games. He said it would not as long as players "cannot convert in-game credits or tokens for money or real merchandise outside the game". " technically, it isn't safe, bcos it then lands in a grey area.. this sentence has to be corrected. I can already think of a number of games / game 3rd party resellers being instantly illegal in this instances secondlife, Counterstrikes, WOW, Dota, any games that have a real money auction house built-in, the games might be safe, but the providers facilitating the cash out may be illegal. EU allows cash converts, now if it were to remain "legal" is this context, it has to cease cash converts to Singapore players, that means, most Singapore players would stop playing and supporting, (the idea of allowing me to liquidate my assets was why I joined in the first place, else I would have continued playing some other stupid FPS games) anyhow the sentence alone, is retarded, take the "game" out of the scope, any "faciliatators" that allows to convert credits to cash or real world merchandise, could also target rewards cards system...
This thread is a little old. In any case it is still not a big deal for Arkadia Studios. A lot of the team remote work from other countries. Head office could be relocated to another country. Sure that's a bit of a hassle but can be done if required. You talk about problems for singapore players but its not clear to me how such a restriction is enforcable. The mechanics is that money is deposited to your account from a foreign source (Sweden). Are they going to check every foreign deposit, regardless of how small?
