Singaporeans Drop Nearly $1 Billion in Casino Entrance Fees

FILE – In this June 7, 2018, file photo, tourists photograph the Merlion, right, one of the icons of Singapore, with the Marina Bay Sands in the background. (AP Photo/Wong Maya-E, FILE)

by Pooja Thakur

Higher entrance levies haven’t stopped rich Singaporeans or those just feeling lucky from flocking to the country’s only two casinos.

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

Levies for Singaporeans and permanent residents to enter either Resorts World Sentosa or the more glitzy Marina Bay Sands were raised to S$150 a day, or S$3,000 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. “Between 2010 and 2018, the number of local visitors to the casinos declined by 50 percent.”

Singapore said last month it would extend the exclusive licenses for the two casino 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.

As part of the 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.