Singapore casinos: 99,000 citizens or residents visited in 2023
The number represented 3 per cent of the nation’s adult population.
Singapore.- Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has reported that 99,000 people who were either Singapore citizens or permanent residents visited the two casinos in the city-state in 2023. The number accounted for 3 per cent of the nation’s adult population at that time.
According to the 2023-24 annual report of the GRA, the 2023 figure was similar to the levels observed during the Covid-19 pandemic years and in 2019, based on the published data from the regulatory body and its predecessor, the Casino Regulatory Authority.
For the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, the percentage of adult Singapore citizens or permanent residents visiting the two casinos was 2.5 per cent, 3 per cent, and 3.2 per cent, respectively, of the adult population. In 2019, a total of 107,000 such people, equivalent to 3.4 per cent of the city-state’s adult population, visited the casinos, according to previous annual reports from the GRA.
There are currently two casinos in Singapore: Resorts World Sentosa, operated by Genting Singapore, and Marina Bay Sands, operated by a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands.
In the first half of the year, Genting Singapore posted a net profit of SG$356.9m (US$271.4m), up 29 per cent from last year. Revenue was up 25.5 per cent year-on-year at SG$1.35bn. Las Vegas Sands has reported that Marina Bay Sands’ (MBS) net revenue was US$2.17bn in the first half of the year.
Singapore introduces bill to tighten casino regulations
On September 10 amendments to the Casino Control Act gained parliamentary approval, tightening certain regulations and protections for vulnerable groups. The country’s two casinos were allowed to introduce cashless gaming but cryptocurrencies will not be permitted due to concerns over money laundering.
The GRA retained the authority to regulate gaming software used on mobile devices within casino premises. The bill transfers the authority to authorise the primary stakeholders of casino operators from the GRA to the Minister for Home Affairs, which the government sees as more suited to “guarantee ongoing harmony between the integrated resorts (IRs) and the strategic goals of the Singapore government.”
The GRA must approve all casino games, gaming machines, and chips. The bill will give the GRA the power to regulate betting and lotteries in casinos in addition to games of chance. It will also decide what can be used as chips. Additional measures include maintaining entry levies for Singapore citizens and permanent residents, reinstated at SG$150 (US$117) daily and SG$3,000 (US$2,340) annually after a period of lower rates.
