Singapore collects nearly USD 1 B on casino local visits with rising levies

The city-state has received about S$1.3 billion (USD 954 million) in entrance fees from citizens and permanent residents since 2010 even as tourists are allowed to enter for free, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo said in response to a question in parliament last week.

Levies for Singaporeans and permanent residents to enter either Resorts World Sentosa or the Marina Bay Sands were raised to S$150 (USD 110) a day, or S$3,000 (USD 2200) a year, last month; that’s up from S$100 and S$2,000. Singapore initially introduced the charges to deter locals from gambling.

“The daily and annual entry levies serve to deter casual and impulse gambling by locals and are part of a holistic suite of social safeguards,” Teo said, as reported by Bloomberg. “Between 2010 and 2018, the number of local visitors to the casinos declined by 50 percent.” Local gamblers who pay for an unlimited number of visits in a year to casinos in Singapore tend to have higher incomes, she said.

"For these affluent individuals who want to visit casinos often, the annual entry levy provides convenience" and it would remain for now, Teo said in response to Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), who wants the annual levy removed to minimize problem gambling. Based on the National Council on Problem Gambling's Gambling Participation Survey done every three years, the probable problem and pathological gambling rate of Singapore residents had fallen from 2.6 percent in 2011 to 0.9 percent in 2017.

Teo said other social safeguards were in place to minimize problem gambling, in addition to the levies, including an exclusion order for the financially vulnerable. The authorities will also work with the casinos to implement technology to give patrons information to let them make informed decisions on their bets and better control their gambling expenditure; and to strengthen training for staff to better identify those at risk of gambling problems, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee said.

Singapore said last month it would extend the exclusive licenses for the two integrated resorts’ operators until 2030 after they pledged to invest S$9 billion in additional tourism attractions. Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s Singapore venture will build a fourth tower at Marina Bay Sands plus a new entertainment arena, while Genting Singapore Ltd.’s Resorts World will construct two new theme zones and enlarge its aquarium.

For the new attractions to remain commercially viable, the government also agreed for both operators to increase their gaming facilities, beyond the current approved 15,000 square meters and 2,500 gaming machines each. Marina Bay Sands will be given an option to expand its gaming area by an extra 2,000 square meters and add 1,000 more machines, while Resorts World can choose to add an extra 500 square meters and 800 more machines.

As part of the overall expansion, the duo will pay around S$2.3 billion for extra land, the New Paper reported, citing Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat. The S$1.3 billion collected will go to the Tote Board, a government body that funds social and community programs.