Singapore tightens rules on casino advertising

These refer to membership drives, rewards and loyalty programmes, as well as lucky draws and contests. Previously, these were not covered under the law.

Three specific incidents prompted authorities to act - when Resorts World Sentosa provided free shuttle bus services from the heartlands to its casino; when the same operator promoted its Genting Rewards programme at heartland shopping malls and Seventh Month Hungry Ghost events; and when Marina Bay Sands started publicising casino winnings on its website. All such activities have since stopped, but they were enough for the authorities to act.

Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Chan Chun Sing, said: "It was very clear that when the casinos were given the licence to operate down here, it was a balance between economic needs and at the same time the social needs.

"The casinos can do whatever they want to promote their growth, but one of the things that we say is that you must never target the local population when it comes to promoting the growth. If you want to attract more tourists, we are okay with that. That is part of your job to do that. So we will not preclude your growth if you continue to attract foreign tourists but we will not allow them to target the local market in order to expand their growth."

Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands will now have to seek prior approval from the Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry for all casino advertising and promotions. These include interviews and media releases, as well as community sponsorship.

Casino advertising will also now cover merchandising, such as a T-shirt with a picture of a dice, or a mug with a picture of a roulette table. The authorities have also made clear what is termed as "domestic market". They include not just Singapore citizens but also Permanent Residents and foreigners working and living in Singapore.

Operators who break the law will now be slapped with a fine of up to S$100,000. Industry watchers welcomed the move, saying that any form of casino advertising does have an influence on a gambler and even a non-gambler.

Reverend Tan Lye Keng, executive director of One Hope Centre, said: "For example, people who never gamble before, why they go into gambling is because they think this is a means to get rich. So when they advertise coming to the casino or through gambling, that you can experience the big win and get rich, that will attract a lot of people to gamble, especially the young people.

"And those who gamble heavily, normally they will incur huge debts so the way they can solve problem, they think they must have big win to solve their problem. Gamblers have this fantasy - that one day they will win big. This will solve their problem. So advertising, putting up winnings, big prizes, will attract them to continue gambling until they really run their lives."

One Hope Centre said it has noticed an increasing number of problem gamblers coming forward to seek help since the casinos began operating in Singapore. Reverend Tan said his centre sees an average of 10 new cases each week. Even the recent publicity surrounding a casino's dispute with a food stall owner over jackpot winnings is cause for concern.

Reverend Tan said: "A lot of the gamblers said that made a lot of people who never gamble or who are already gambling heavily think that maybe one day, their chance will come also to win that kind of money. Even just normal news, people may think it is just news, but to a lot gamblers and a lot of young people who are waiting to go to the casino, that is a big thing to them."

A survey on the gambling habits of Singaporeans will be released early next year. This will give the government a better sense of the problem of pathological gambling in Singapore. What we do know is that there will be additional measures introduced and the next target group - frequent gamblers

Chan said: "Frequent gamblers are what I call the people at risk. They might not be in trouble now but if they are not careful, they may easily slip in the in-risk group of people. So we are taking a more upstream approach to handle some of these issues. Prevention is better than cure. For example, very targeted - looking at who are frequent gamblers and extending help and counselling to them before they get into trouble. So these are areas we are looking into."

Both casino operators said they will work with authorities to ensure compliance with the law. A spokesperson from Marina Bay Sands said: "Marina Bay Sands will continue to work very closely with the authorities in Singapore to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework at all times".

Meanwhile, Resorts World Sentosa said: "As a responsible gaming operator, we respect and seek to comply with Singapore's gaming laws and regulations. We fully support the amendments and will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities in compliance with the new regulations".