Singapore Casinos have a difficult start

Singapore now has two casinos contained within resorts complexes but they have had a difficult start to their existence. Resorts World Sentosa and more recently Marina Bay Sands certainly got off to a flying start as concerns the number of casino players but the disappointing thing for the Singapore Government will be reports that up to 60% of the gamblers are in fact either Singaporeans or permanent residents of the country. The Government passed legislation to allow casinos on the assumption that high rolling Chinese and other tourists would bring money into the country; they even imposed a surcharge of S$100 per day or S$2,000 annually for residents to play  the casino games. It is also generally accepted that local gamblers play for lower stakes and so it becomes questionable whether the massive investment can be recuperated although there is plenty of time for things to change. It should also be remembered that the casinos are owned by American and Malaysian interests so more local gambling actually means more cash flowing out of the country rather than bringing it in through taxation. It will of course take time for overseas visitors to catch on and the rush of locals obsessed with suddenly being able to gamble may peter out as time goes on. Marina Bay Sands has had a particularly difficult start and is now under threat of legal action. The first conference in the new complex was, of all people, the Inter Pacific Bar Association ( a bunch of lawyers in other words) and they complained about lack of working air conditioning, room phones that didn’t work. Lack of hot water and swimming pools that were not yet open. Maybe not the ideal guests for your first event!