Singapore Weighs Added Safeguards for High-Risk AI Agents as GRA Expands Internal Tools

Singapore is assessing whether high-risk uses of artificial intelligence require tougher safeguards as AI systems gain greater autonomy and access to data, tools and business processes. At the same time, the country’s gambling regulator has expanded its own adoption of AI.

Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo outlined possible measures for essential services and higher-risk applications. These include more rigorous testing, independently verifiable evidence that safeguards work, tighter deployment controls and stronger regulatory oversight.

Teo confirmed no cyberattack on government agencies involving an unsupervised AI agent has been reported. The government does not dismiss “catastrophic or even extinction-level” risks.

Frameworks Under Review for Agentic Systems

Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How stated the government is reviewing its frameworks for autonomous systems. “We are running trials and experiments to stay abreast of the evolving technology and to understand what it takes to implement agentic systems responsibly,” Tan said.

Tan noted many agentic AI risks are extensions of existing challenges. Current guidance rests on the voluntary Model AI Governance Framework for Agentic AI the Infocomm Media Development Authority introduced in January. It was updated in May after feedback from more than 60 organizations, including AWS, DBS, Google and Salesforce.

An AI Agents Sandbox with Google, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, GovTech and IMDA began in August 2025 and ran for about four months. It concluded higher-risk actions can require prior approval while identifying risks such as indirect prompt injection and data leakage. The Monetary Authority of Singapore published its Safeguards for Agentic Finance at Runtime (SAFR) framework in July 2026.

GRA Rolls Out AI Masterplan

In its 2025/26 Annual Report, the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) described technology as a “strategic enabler of our work.” CEO Daniel Tan detailed rollout of an AI Masterplan, extended use of Microsoft Copilot, AI bots for corporate resources and anomaly-flagging tools for audit log reviews.

“Empowering officers to experiment with and apply AI has strengthened their capabilities and confidence in using these technologies effectively and responsibly,” Daniel Tan said. The GRA renewed licenses for operators including Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Singapore Pools.

Chairman Hoong Wee Teck said casino-related crime remained low. The number of Singapore citizens and permanent residents visiting the casinos fell from around 94,000, or 2.8% of the adult population, in 2024 to about 91,000, or 2.7%, in 2025, according to figures for the 12 months ended March 31, 2026.

As reported by Yogonet International, the GRA’s measured expansion of AI tools alongside national consideration of mandatory controls for high-autonomy agents shows a calibrated path. Regulators gain operational efficiency while preserving core skills; future rules may require operators to adopt similar human checkpoints and testing for any agentic systems they deploy.

Reporting: Yogonet International

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