Proposed law to fix Singapore casino entry levy at S$150 a day, after lapse of earlier order due to oversight

SINGAPORE: A proposed change to the law would fix casino entry levies here for Singapore citizens and permanent residents at S$150 (US$114) per day and S$3,000 yearly, after an earlier oversight, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said in a press release on Tuesday (Aug 6).

The change is part of the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill introduced in Parliament by Minister of State for Home Affairs and for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling on Tuesday. The Casino Control Act was last amended in 2012.

The levies, which aim to deter casual and impulse gambling, had been increased on Apr 4, 2019 from S$100 daily and S$2,000 annually, for a period of five years.

However, MHA had overlooked the expiry of the 2019 order, and the levies automatically reverted to the lower rates on Apr 4 this year.

On May 8, MHA restored them to the higher amounts, though they were still collected in the expiry period from Apr 4 to May 7 - with about S$4.4 million collected above the legislated entry levy rates.

“It was always the government’s intent to maintain the higher entry levies beyond the five-year period,” the ministries said in the press release, explaining that the proposed amendments would “regularise the higher entry levies” collected in the expiry period.

“We have tightened our processes to avoid a repeat of such an incident.”

There are for now no plans to increase the entry levy further, though the authorities will keep monitoring and make changes when necessary, said MHA.

Under the proposed changes to the law, breaching a Family Visit Limit for casinos becomes a punishable offence. An excluded person could be fined up to S$10,000 and jailed up to 12 months if found guilty.

A Family Visit Limit is applied by family members to limit the number of times a person can enter a casino, if his or her gambling behaviour has caused harm to them, including financial and emotional distress, neglect of family responsibilities, or relationship breakdowns. 

About five individuals breach their Family Visit Limit on average each year.

Currently, it is only an offence to breach an Exclusion Order by Law, Third Party Exclusion Order, Third Party Visit Limit or Family Exclusion Order.

The Bill will also propose for the National Council on Problem Gambling and its committees to be able to immediately substitute an Exclusion Order with a Visit Limit, and vice versa.

“The process usually takes a period of one to two months, during which the individual would not be protected by any safeguards,” explained MHA and MSF.

FUTURE-PROOFING REGULATIONS

The proposed changes will also extend the Gambling Regulatory Authority’s (GRA) regulation of casino activities to cover betting and lotteries, beyond games of chance.

“To be clear, there are currently no plans to allow casinos to carry out betting and lotteries,” MHA and MSF said in the press release.

Gaming software, which can be deployed on mobile devices, could also be approved by the GRA if the need arises. This follows the GRA’s observation of gaming machine manufacturers developing software, without the hardware, which can be used on off-the-shelf devices such as tablets.

The GRA could also allow new betting instruments to be used as chips in casinos in future, such as virtual credits, under the proposed changes.

The Bill also transfers the powers to approve main shareholders from the GRA to the Minister for Home Affairs.

As the main shareholders are accountable for the development of the integrated resorts and their long-term commitments in Singapore, the minister is better placed “to take into account whole-of-government considerations”, MHA and MSF said.

Meanwhile, powers to approve controllers and substantial shareholders will be transferred in the other direction - from the Home Affairs Minister to the GRA - with the authority taking on the role of approving those who influence or control casino operations directly.

Singapore has two casino operators - Genting Singapore which runs Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands which runs Marina Bay Sands. 

TIGHTENING CASINO OPERATIONS

Last year, there were 137 reports of crime at Singapore’s casinos, or just 0.2 per cent of all reported cases, noted MHA and MSF.

Nonetheless, the authorities are still taking steps to establish new offences under the law to deter casino-related crime and protect the integrity of gaming operations.

Under the proposed changes, it will be an offence to withdraw bets after the result of a game is known. Currently, it is only an offence for patrons to place a bet after the result is out.

Between 2010 and last year, 10 people were investigated for withdrawing their bets after the results were out, under the offence of theft in dwelling.

It will also become a crime to cheat the casinos by recording play patterns of non-card games, such as gaming machines.

From 2010 to last year, there was one such case, involving three people who video-recorded the play patterns of a non-card game with a customised application on their smartphone devices. They were all convicted for cheating at play under the Casino Control Act.

The proposed changes to the law would also allow the country’s two casino operators to share patrons’ information with each other to tackle money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

The operators are currently not allowed to share personal data directly with each other without patrons' consent, due to the Personal Data Protection Act.

Instead, the GRA has to facilitate the exchange, which is operationally inefficient and impedes the operators from acting quickly.