• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Sunday 1 June 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Singapore risks getting too dependent on casino resorts, says MP

Newsdesk by Newsdesk
Sat 5 Mar 2011 at 12:15
2
SHARES
61
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

A Singapore MP has called for a tripling in the levy imposed on Singapore nationals for entry to the city’s two casinos.

Such a move would push fees up to S$300 (US$235) for 24-hour access, and to S$6,000 (US$4,716) for a yearly pass. The MP also called for a formal cap on the number of casino resorts allowed in the city-state at the current two. The chances of any of these things becoming formal government policy any time soon seem slim, given that it’s the view of a single MP.

What was interesting about lawmaker Denise Phua’s statement this week, however, was how and where it was made. It wasn’t the usual town hall tub-thumping about the need to protect the poor and vulnerable in society. That’s normally the tack of the anti-gaming politicians in Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia.

Instead, Ms Phua’s point was a subtler political and economic one. It was that over-reliance on gaming revenue would risk narrowing the scope and ambitions of the local economy and would hurt Singapore over time. This in effect is a mirror image of the Chinese government’s concerns about the current state of the Macau economy and its reliance on income from casino gambling—but coming from the other end of the curve.

And she chose to reinforce the point by raising the issue during a parliamentary debate on the city-state’s 2011 budget. The government should take “the more difficult journey of honing our own expertise in building quality tourism products” she said. Where have Macau-watchers heard that before?

In support of her point about over-reliance on gaming, Ms Phua cited an analysts’ report suggesting the Singapore gaming market would hit US$5 billion in gross revenue in 2011. That’s only US$776.5 million shy of the gross gaming revenues (GGR) for the whole of the Las Vegas Strip in 2010, and equivalent to 56% of the entire GGR for the whole of Clark County in 2010, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors’ Authority.

Ms Phua’s comments come at a time of national debate about the numbers of Singapore citizens gambling in the two integrated resorts (IRs)—Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Marina Bay Sands. The government disclosed in January that the IRs collected S$130 million in casino entry levies between April and November last year. Assuming for a moment that every transaction in that total was for a 24-hour pass at S$100 per time, that’s the equivalent of 1,300,000 individual casino visits by Singapore citizens in just eight months. Expressed another way, it amounts to 5,416 Singaporeans per day visiting the casinos during that period.

In reality some of the S$130 million entry levy revenue will have come from yearly passes issued at S$2,000 per time, thus in likelihood pushing down somewhat the daily average number of Singaporeans visiting the casinos. But those purchasing a yearly permit must still make at least 20 casino visits per year to make it more cost effective than buying a daily pass.

There is also some anecdotal evidence from industry insiders that the 24-hour pass system may actually be creating incentives to gamble more intensively than might be the case if access were free to Singaporeans at all times.

An industry source told Inside Asian Gaming e-Newsletter: “Because the day pass is for a 24-hour period from the time of purchase, what a lot of local players seem to be doing is buying an entry ticket in the evening, playing until maybe one or two in the morning, sleeping for a few hours, going to work and then going back to the casino the next day.”

RelatedPosts

Marine attraction Singapore Oceanarium to open at Resorts World Sentosa on 23 July

Marine attraction Singapore Oceanarium to open at Resorts World Sentosa on 23 July

Mon 26 May 2025 at 14:40
Singapore’s Changi Airport now Asia’s busiest airport as Hong Kong falls further behind

Singapore’s Changi Airport Group sees profit double in 2024 on all-time passenger movements record

Fri 23 May 2025 at 06:10
10 Years Ago: Rearing for a comeback

Genting Singapore continues to show weakness in 1Q25 on hotel room renovation work, weak macro environment

Thu 15 May 2025 at 05:08
Two to Tango

Tan Hee Teck to retire as CEO of Genting Singapore and Resorts World Sentosa

Wed 14 May 2025 at 18:14
Load More
Tags: MBSRWSSingapore
Share1Share
Newsdesk

Newsdesk

The IAG Newsdesk team comprises some of the most experienced journalists in the Asian gaming industry. Offering a broad range of expertise, their decades of combined know-how spans multiple countries across a variety of topics.

Current Issue

Editorial – Foreigner-only casinos: Seize the day

Editorial – Foreigner-only casinos: Seize the day

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 29 May 2025 at 13:38

I was recently asked by someone working at a foreigner-only casino for my thoughts on the outlook for the Asian...

On the brink

On the brink

by Pierce Chan
Thu 29 May 2025 at 13:27

The transition period for Macau’s 11 satellite casinos is set to expire at the end of this year, after which...

A moral defense of gambling

A moral defense of gambling

by Andrew Russell
Wed 28 May 2025 at 18:19

Economist Andrew Russell explores the differences between community benefit and in-principle arguments for the existence of a legal gambling industry...

Face to face

Face to face

by Ben Blaschke
Wed 28 May 2025 at 18:08

Konami caught the eye at the recent G2E Asia show in Macau with its SYNK Vision Tables, which utilize facial...

Evolution Asia
Aristocrat
GLI
Mindslot
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
Nustar
Jumbo

Related Posts

10 Years Ago – Reimagining Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka gazettes draft bill to establish Gambling Regulatory Authority

by Newsdesk
Sat 31 May 2025 at 06:03

A draft bill that would establish an official regulator for the Sri Lankan gaming industry, to be known as the Gambling Regulatory Authority, has taken another step forward after being gazetted. According to the Sri Lanka Mirror, the official announcement...

RGB International signs agreement to distribute KL Saberi and Atlas gaming machines

After record-breaking sales in 2024, Malaysia’s RGB sees 1Q25 profit fall to

by Newsdesk
Sat 31 May 2025 at 05:53

Malaysian gaming product distributor RGB International Bhd has reported group-wide revenue of MYR73.6 million (US$17.3 million) for the three months to 31 March 2025, down 65% year-on-year due to a lower number of products sold. The figure was also 79%...

Robert Goldstein to step aside as LVS Chairman and CEO from March 2026, replaced by Patrick Dumont

Robert Goldstein: Macau gaming market challenged by increased competition, online gambling and US-Sino trade war

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 30 May 2025 at 06:42

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein has bemoaned the lingering impact of the US-China trade war, as well as increased domestic and regional competition and the rise of online gambling across Asia for sustained flatness in the...

Industry hopes Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable can establish “common ground” with those opposing legal casinos

Industry hopes Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable can establish “common ground” with those opposing legal casinos

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 30 May 2025 at 05:38

Industry figures taking part in the Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable (TECR) next Thursday 5 June hope to find common ground with those who oppose Thailand’s Entertainment Complex Bill, citing the opportunity to use an evidence-based approach to achieve outcomes that...



IAG

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2024
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • English