Singapore Pools tells bettors to use their mobile app, save a tree

Singapore hopes lottery and sports bettors have an environmental conscience, while authorities warn that playing online ‘mystery prize’ games are a one-way ticket to prisonville.

On Tuesday, the Singapore Pools sports betting and lottery monopoly announced the launch of a new mobile app targeting customers who still prefer walking around with a paper betting ticket in their pocket.

Singapore Pools and its horserace betting counterpart Singapore Turf Club began operating online in 2016 and already offer apps that allow customers to make their wagers in digital fashion. The new eBetslip app, which is available for both Android and iOS devices, is aimed at punters who remain partial to the certainty that comes with a physical record.

The new app requires users to fill out a digital betting slip via the app, then proceed to a Singapore Pools retail outlet, where they scan their digital slip’s unique QR code and receive a paper betting ticket. This eliminates the need to fill out a physical betting slip, which Singapore Pools estimates could reduce its annual paper usage by 71 tons, thereby sparing over 1,200 trees from the woodsman’s axe, if only 10% of paper bettors make the switch.