SINGAPORE

Singapore to update gambling oversight

Singapore has announced a major overhaul of its highly respected regulatory regime to make sure it keeps abreast of new product developments and technologies.

The central plank of the overhaul will be the expansion of the powers of the casino regulator, the Casino Control Commission, in to a new umbrella body that will encompass all forms of gambling in the city state. The new body is intended to be up and running by 2021 and will be known as the Gambling Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

At present, the Casino Control Commission regulates Singapore's two integrated resorts, while a gambling unit within the MHA regulates fruit machines and remote services. Racing and wagering activities carried out by Singapore Pools come under the Singapore Totalisator Board.

Online gaming, outside of activities carried out by Singapore Pools, is strictly prohibited. The government said that the regulators in Singapore have done a good job of protecting the public, however there are emerging trends that can have a significant impact on the gambling landscape. For example, technology has changed the way people gamble and made it more accessible. While business models have evolved to suit changing customer preferences by introducing gambling elements in products that art traditionally not seen as gambling.

The GRA will consolidate and optimise gambling regulatory resources within a single agency.

“This will allow GRA to stay even more effectively abreast of technological and global trends, respond faster to emerging products in particular those that cut across different domains and take a more holistic approach to gambling policies and issues," the MHA said.

Singapore’s regulatory framework for its gambling industry has been widely copied as a model around Asia, with policymakers in Japan looking at how casinos are regulated there as a basis for its own nascent industry.

The MHA said its framework has been effective, with casino crimes making up less than one percent of overall crime and the number of people arrested for illegal gambling decreasing by 28 percent from 2011 to 2019. Probable pathological and problem gambling rates have remained relatively stable, at less than one percent over the past five years.

Among the areas up for review will be the need to regulate products such as “mystery boxes.” It will also review the penalties it hands down for any transgressions.

The MHA said that as it updates its laws, the government will retain a “generally prohibitive stance” towards gambling and will maintain a risk-based regulatory approach.

It gave no indication that it may relax its laws banning online gambling, which are amongst the most draconian in the world. Only Singapore Pools is allowed to take online bets on horse racing, TOTO and 4 D bets.

The government last year announced it would allow its two integrated resorts -- Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands -- to expand and add more gaming capacity. However, it also increased taxes and entry fees for locals.

From April last year the annual entry levy went up by 50 percent to $150. At the end of a current tax moratorium in February 2022, it will also introduce a higher tax structure, which will also include more tiers. For premium gaming the rate will rise to 8 percent from 5 percent on the first $2.4 billion in GGR and will rise to 12 percent thereafter.

For mass gaming, the tax rate also gains by three percentage points to 18 percent for the first $3.1 billion in GGR and then 22 percent thereafter.

Singapore extends closures until June

The Singapore government has extended its lockdown of non-essential business through to June 1st to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The island’s two integrated resorts are considered non-essential.

They were initially told to close on April 7th for a period of one month. Even prior to the closure they had been operating increasingly strict social distancing measures, with only annual entry card holders and carded VIP players allowed to enter the casinos.

After initially enjoying considerable success in keeping the virus under control, Singapore saw a spike coming in from imported cases. The focal point for new infections appears to be among work permit holders living in crowded foreign worker dormitories.

Genting execs agree pay cuts

Genting Singapore said its executives and senior management have agreed to pay cuts to help to offset the impact of the coronavirus on its earnings, which it warns is likely to be significant.

The operator of Resorts World Sentosa said it has seen a major drop in visitor attendance and revenue across all its facilities. It said it will reduce non-executive director fees by 15 percent in the first quarter, while its executive directors will take an 18 percent reduction in base salary.

There will also be a cut of between 9 percent and 18 percent for all managerial staff and it’s encouraging employees to take unpaid leave, or annual leave.