Lau Kok Keng
Head, Intellectual Property, Sports and Gaming, Rajah & Tann Asia
Lau Kok Keng has been in practice in Singapore since 1990. He joined his current firm Rajah & Tann LLP as a Partner in 2000, after spending his first 10 years of practice with another top tier local law firm and an international law firm with a global presence. Kok Keng currently leads Rajah & Tann LLP’s Gaming Law practice, and is the only Singapore lawyer who is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law, an international association of leading gambling law experts worldwide whose members must meet strict admission criteria based on experience and expertise in gambling law.
Kok Keng is recognised as a leading gaming lawyer by publications such as Chambers Asia- Pacific (Tier 1), Who’s Who Legal (Global Elite Thought Leader in Gaming), The International Who’s Who of Sports & Entertainment Lawyers, and the Asia Pacific Legal 500, placing him amongst the world's pre-eminent lawyers in gaming law.
Since 2001, Kok Keng has been actively involved in representing and advising clients in the gambling industry. His practice is arguably the most experienced and extensive gambling law practice in Singapore. Kok Keng’s team has, through their work with clients in the gambling industry, acquired a good practical understanding of various lottery, gaming and betting operations and products, and is able to apply that domain knowledge to the work products that are generated. His clients include state operators in Asia, foreign and offshore private operators (including Australian, Macau, Monte Carlo, UK and Malaysian land based casinos and cruise ship casinos). Uniquely, he helped establish the legal framework governing legalized sports betting in Singapore in 2002, when Singapore first introduced legalized betting on foreign football matches and tournaments.
When Singapore first introduced the voluntary Responsible Gambling Code of Practice in 2007, Kok Keng had advised the state lottery operator on its responsible gambling approach and statement of principles for compliance with the Code of Practice. The objectives of the Code of practice were to promote a shared understanding of responsible gambling, ensure that gambling products are provided responsibly and in harmony with community standards, enable customers to make informed decisions, minimize harm to individuals and the community, and ensure timely access to help for those adversely affected. The responsible gambling principles in the Code of Practice were eventually codified and made applicable to casinos on a mandatory basis in the Casino Control (Responsible Gambling) Regulations 2013.
In recent times, Kok Keng has been advising various offshore internet gambling operators, agents and support services providers such as software developers, gaming researchers and odds-setters on the effect of the Gambling Control Act which was introduced in Singapore in 2022. He also advised the Government of an ASEAN country on proposed reform of its gambling laws, provided expert opinion on behalf of a leading casino in Australia on casino junket activities, money laundering and probity laws as part of an inquiry by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority in Australia into the said casino’s suitability to hold a casino licence, and advised on enforceability of gaming debts and the conduct of international marketing activities for leading Australian and Vietnamese casinos.
Kok Keng was one of 3 presenters at the Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable event which was held in Bangkok on 5 June 2025. He has written many articles on gambling law developments, the most recent of which can be accessed at https://asgam.com/2025/07/10/singapores-casino-legalization-experience-setting-the-standards-for-minimizing-and-managing-social-costs/.
