Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN FEB 2020 28 The famous Infinity Pool on the rooftop of Marina Bay Sands’ trio of towers. マリーナベイ・サンズの屋上にある有名なインフィニティプール COVER STORY can trumpet their non-gaming features. Gaming areas are limited to 15,000 square meters with a cap at 2,500 gaming machines. The Casino Regulatory Authority piled on licensing requirements for junket promoters to the extent that none from Macau applied. RWS works with three small junket promoters, MBS has none, so the IRs overwhelmingly source their own VIPs and hold hundreds of millions of dollars in player debt. In a further departure from Macau, Singapore bans casino shuttle buses. PAY TO PLAY Singapore didn’t invent the entry fee for citizens – it was used at some early US regional riverboat casinos and it’s charged only to Koreans at Kangwon Land – but regulators put it at the center of responsible gaming policy. Singapore citizens and permanent residents initially had to pay SG$100 (US$74) entry tax for 24 hours or SG$2,000 annually to enter a casino. The tax rose 50% in April 2019 to SG$150 daily and SG$3,000 annually as part of the expansion deal, despite Singapore’s rate of problem gambling falling from 2.6% in 2011 to 0.9% in 2017. Responsible gaming expert Kahlil Philander “appreciates the consideration” Singapore gives to preventing gaming disorders but disagrees with its tactics. “The entry fees are more likely to create harms than benefits, because only the most price sensitive customers will change their visit frequency,” Philander, former director of social responsibility for Canada’s British Columbia Lottery Corporation and now an assistant professor at Washington State University’s School of Hospitality Business Management, says. “This means a greater share of revenue will come from players with problems.” Philander contends entry fees deter casual players who may visit the casino after shopping, a show or meal at the IR. Singapore Pools, running sports betting and