Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | October 2010 26 SINGAPORE Stormy Weather Are politicians about to rain on Singapore’s casino parade? A gaming executive gives a personal forecast I f you visit Singapore regularly, you will know that the city-state gets some spectacular thunderstorms. It doesn’t just rain, it literally ‘buckets down,’ often accompanied by spectacular lightning strikes. Nowadifferent storm looks as though it could be on the horizon. It’s a political one that could curtail the way Singapore’s multi- billion dollar casinos operate. That could have a negative impact on the spectacular financial performance expected of the properties by some analysts. So far, Singapore casinos have performed very well, smashing early estimates. That, in turn, has led to a tendency among commentators to talk up the market on behalf of the two casino operators: Las Vegas Sands Corp and Genting Singapore, a unit of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd. unit of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd. Something similar happened in Macau prior to 2007. Some of those who talkedupMacauas a‘pot of gold’ran for cover when the market spectacularly fell back for political as well as economic reasons just a year later. In Singapore’s case, what you see right nowmay not be what materialises over the mid-term. There are emerging issues that could mean the local casino business will not be as lucrative as it promises to be at present. A major factor could be the opinion of the Singapore public, and not necessarily those members of it who visit the casinos regularly. A growing number of ordinary Singaporeans seem to be questioning the benefit to the community of the two integrated resort projects. A recent comment left by a citizen on the Singapore government’s official Internet forum, ‘Reach’, may sound paternalistic to outsiders, but captures aspects of the public mood quite well. “I would like to propose a ban on all work permit holders [Malaysian and other foreign migrant workers in Singapore] from entering the casinos,” said the contributor. “These migrant workers typically earn low incomes and have a debt to repay for coming to Singapore. By allowing them into the Casinos, we are not helping their financial situations. “Should they lose money, we may face a greater crime rate. Foreigners with S Pass [SingPass, the identification system for transactions with government departments]