SINGAPORE — With Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) committing about S$9 billion of non-gaming investments to build tourism, facilities and attractions, the Government has moved to provide them with “business certainty” by ensuring that no casinos will be built here until end-2030.

To help the new attractions and facilities remain commercially viable, the Government has also agreed to allow the expansion of the casinos at the two Integrated Resorts (IRs).

Currently, each IR has an Approved Gaming Area (AGA) of 15,000 sqm. MBS and RWS will be given an option to deploy, subject to payment of additional land costs, an additional 2,000 sqm and 500 sqm of AGA respectively.

However, as the non-gaming areas will be expanded by a much larger area, the AGA as a proportion of total floor area will ultimately be reduced from 3.1 per cent to 2.3 per cent.

With the expansion, MBS and RWS can increase their allowable gaming machines by 1,000 and 800 respectively.

The IRs’ S$9 billion investment is almost two-thirds of the S$15 billion they had initially pumped in in 2006, said a joint statement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on Wednesday (April 3).

MBS and RWS were granted exclusive rights in Singapore from 2007 to 2017, partly to allow their operators — Las Vegas Sands and Genting Singapore — to get a head start in recouping their large investments.

The Government had previously said that there were no plans to award additional casino licences.

INCREASE IN CASINO LEVIES

The Government also announced that the casino levies for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents will be raised by 50 per cent — from S$100 to S$150 for the daily levy, and from S$2,000 to S$3,000 for the annual levy — to deter casual and impulse gambling.

In a statement, MSF said that it considered a range of issues before coming to a decision. These include the problem-gambling situation, changes in household income levels, the prevailing prices of alternatives to local casinos such as those in Genting in Malaysia and the general economic conditions. 

The National Council of Problem Gambling (NCPG) said that it welcomed the increase in entry levy and would continue to work closely with the Government to ensure that problem gambling remains low in the country. Currently, problem gambling affects less than 1 per cent of the resident population.

It also welcomed the joint study by the IRs and MSF to employ technologies that can provide casino patrons with information to help them better control their gambling behaviour.

“We have seen examples of such systems in other countries that allow gamblers to set a budget or time limit for themselves and to get automatic reminders when they are nearing these limits,” said NCPG in its statement.

“It is positive progress that the IRs will study and implement suitable technology to promote responsible gambling in casinos,” it added.

The NCPG also urged individuals to exercise personal responsibility and family members and the community to encourage those with gambling issues to seek help early.

ACTIVATION OF LEVIES, INCREASE IN CASINO TAX RATES

From August onwards, both daily and annual levies will be automatically activated after six hours, even if the patron does not enter the casino by then. Also, the earliest a second levy may be purchased is six hours before the first expires.

Currently, entry levies are activated when a person first enters the casino. Daily levies also automatically expire 30 days after purchase, while annual levies are automatically activated after 90 days. There are also no restrictions on the purchase of a second levy.

Meanwhile, a tiered structure for casino taxes will be introduced after the current moratorium ends in February 2022. Currently, there is a flat tax rate of 5 per cent for Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) made through premium gaming and 15 per cent for GGR made through mass gaming.

Premium gaming refers to the GGR made through players who open a deposit account with a credit balance of no less than S$100,000. Mass gaming covers players who fall outside of this category.

With the change, the first S$2.4 billion of GGR from premium gaming will be taxed at 8 per cent, while GGR which exceeds S$2.4 billion will be taxed at 12 per cent.

For mass gaming, the first $3.1 billion of GGR will be taxed at 18 per cent while GGR which exceeds $3.1 billion will be taxed at 22 per cent.