Harsher penalties for ActiveSG accounts that use bots to book facilities

SINGAPORE: ActiveSG accounts found to have used bots to book sports facilities will face harsher penalties from Jul 1.

First-time offenders will have their accounts suspended for up to six months, while a second infringement will result in the termination of the account, ActiveSG chief Tan Hock Leong said in an email to members on Tuesday (Jun 20).

Currently, accounts that are found to have suspicious booking patterns are suspended for three months for first-time violations, and 12 months for repeat violations.

Since 2021, more than 200 ActiveSG accounts have been suspended for suspected use of bots to book sports facilities, and more than 600 bookings were cancelled due to "on-selling".

These figures were also given by Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo in a written parliamentary reply in March. She said the government is aware of the use of automated bots to secure slots on websites.

Some people have also resold slots for profit.

"Sport Singapore (SportSG) takes a very serious stance towards such activities; both of which are strictly not allowed under our ActiveSG Terms of Use," said Mr Tan on Tuesday.

The use of bots and on-selling "would deprive others of sporting opportunities while unfairly incurring additional costs at others’ expense", he added.

Regular checks on all bookings will be conducted and irregular booking patterns will be investigated, he said. Authorities also scan social media platforms to check for reselling activities involving ActiveSG facilities.

The issue of using bots to book sports facilities came into the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, after Singapore Island Country Club said its online booking system was compromised with some accounts using bots or scripted programmes to secure popular golfing time slots. 

There were also reports of a surge in demand for public badminton court bookings, with some people using bots to beat the system and others resorting to buying slots from resellers on platforms such as Carousell and Facebook.

In her parliamentary reply in March, Mrs Teo said SportSG has stepped up enforcement measures on-site, requiring the person who booked the slot to be present and be part of the playing party. Otherwise, the booking may be cancelled.

Random checks are also done on-site, according to a notice on the ActiveSG app before a person proceeds with a booking.

Mr Tan urged ActiveSG members to book facilities only for their personal use, so as to ensure a "fair and equitable booking system".

"Any on-selling of any ActiveSG facility slot is not allowed. Please also do not purchase such slots from errant sellers," he added.