Singapore Pools, established in 1968, offers legal channels for gambling, with proceeds going back into nation building efforts. Its services include Toto games and 4D lottery gaming; sports betting and horse racing betting, and online gambling. The company also adheres to responsible gaming measures, and has invested in innovative digital transformation of its customer touchpoints.
During the last financial year ending in March 2024, bets placed with Singapore Pools amounted to $12.2 billion, a record high, a spokesperson from the company told The Straits Times. This was due to a combination of increased interest in sports betting, as well as the growing popularity of the game of 4D, which lets players bet on permutations and combinations of four-digit numbers from 0000 to 9999.
As the company strives to be a leading and trusted operator, it continues to invest in digitalising its customer service. One of its key projects involves PoolzConnect, an IP-based telephone service that enables customers to place their bets over the phone. In addition, the service allows customers to receive their winnings automatically into a pre-defined and approved bank account.
The system was recently migrated from the company’s on-premises applications monitoring platform to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which improves performance and stability. It also enables Singapore Pools to deliver faster and reliable digital betting services. This is especially important given the Covid-19 pandemic, when many businesses were shut down or were unable to process cash payments and e-payments.
Another project aims to boost efficiency and reduce outages by streamlining the IT support process. It will allow the IT team to identify and troubleshoot issues more quickly, which in turn reduces the time it takes to resolve them. This will lead to a better customer experience.
The company has also invested in its people. Its staff have been awarded recognition for their efforts and agility during the pandemic. Its human resources unit, Singapore Pools Academy, extended its learning resources to support social service organisations and charities, in line with the company’s commitment to uplifting society. It was also conferred the Company of Good — 3 Hearts by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), which is an annual recognition to companies for their corporate purpose adoption efforts.
Employees like Suppiah, who joined the company in 1977 as a field supervisor, are also driving innovation and growth at the company. He has been involved in running TOTO booths for 43 years, and his experience has enabled him to be effective at managing the teams in charge of different areas of operation. In addition, he leverages his sporting knowledge to help organize internal sports activities for the company. He is a former TOTO athlete and has participated in many major events, including the Olympics and Asian Games. In addition to his work, Suppiah is a fitness enthusiast and plays football in the mornings before heading into work. He also trains and coaches the TOTO field cadets. He is an avid traveller and has visited over 35 countries so far.