Casino Entry Levies in Asia

Entry levies in Asia: what they are and who pays

An entry levy is a fee you pay to walk into a casino, separate from anything you spend at the tables. It exists for one main reason: to make casual visits by local residents more expensive, and so discourage them. That is why, almost everywhere in Asia, the fee applies to citizens and residents while foreign visitors walk in for free.

The idea was pioneered in Singapore, where the two integrated resorts opened in 2010 with a levy aimed squarely at Singaporeans. Vietnam copied the model when it began letting Vietnamese nationals into certain casinos in 2017, selling them an entry ticket at the door. South Korea takes a different approach: its one locals-friendly casino, Kangwon Land, charges everyone the same small admission fee. Japan and Thailand are the newest arrivals, with entry fees written into their casino frameworks before a single relevant casino has opened.

Everywhere else in the region, there is no entry fee at all. Macau, the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the foreigner-only casinos of South Korea charge nothing at the door. You show ID, you walk in. The levy is the exception, not the rule, and it is worth knowing exactly where it applies before you plan a visit. For the wider picture of which casinos admit local citizens at all, see casino access for citizens.

Singapore: S$150 a day for citizens and permanent residents

Singapore runs the most famous entry levy in Asia, and the most expensive. Any Singapore citizen or permanent resident who wants to enter a casino must pay the levy before walking in; the casino operator is legally barred from letting them in without it¹. Foreign visitors pay nothing and simply show their passport.

There are two options, set in section 116 of the Casino Control Act⁶:

Both figures were raised by an amendment passed in 2024: the daily levy went up from S$100 and the annual levy from S$2,000⁷. The government has since formally confirmed that the higher rates are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

The daily levy runs for 24 consecutive hours from its effective time, not from the moment you first sit at a table. The effective time is whichever comes first: your first entry into the casino, or 6 hours after you paid⁸. So if you buy the levy at noon and enter at 6 pm, the clock started at 6 pm, and you have until 6 pm the next day. If you buy at noon and enter at 2 pm, the levy started at 2 pm.

The annual levy follows the same activation rule, then runs for 12 consecutive months, expiring at 11:59:59 pm on the day before the date 12 months after it took effect⁸. Buy it, activate it on your first visit, and you can come and go for a year without paying again.

The levy applies at both of Singapore's casino resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. Marina Bay Sands publishes the terms on its own site, and they match the statute: S$150 for the daily pass, non-transferable, and valid for 24 consecutive hours⁸.

Two more things worth knowing. First, the minimum age for casino entry in Singapore is 21, for everyone, citizen or visitor⁹. Second, a citizen or permanent resident who enters without paying the levy faces a fine of up to S$1,500 and is still liable for the levy amount itself⁶. The practical risk is a fine, not prison, but it is a real one, and the casinos check IDs at the door.

Refunds and exclusions: when the Singapore levy is not returned

The Singapore levy is strictly non-refundable. The regulations say it plainly: any entry levy that has been paid shall not be refundable, in whole or in part, even if the resident who paid it never enters or remains on the casino premises during the validity period¹⁰. If you buy a daily levy, change your mind, and go home, the S$150 is gone.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority, which oversees the levy, lists the situations where a refund request will be refused¹:

• You bought a levy but were unable to use it.
• You hold an exclusion order, a visit limit, or any other entry restriction imposed by the casino operator.
• Someone asks for a refund on behalf of a deceased person who purchased a levy.

The casino operator is itself barred from refunding, remitting or reimbursing any levy, directly or indirectly¹¹. So no one at the door can make an exception for you, however good the reason.

There is one narrow exception written into the law: if you overpaid the levy, you can claim the difference back, but only if you make the claim within 6 months of the overpayment¹¹. That is the sole refund route.

The levy is also non-transferable. You cannot buy one for a friend, and you cannot hand a partly used daily pass to someone else⁸.

South Korea: KRW 9,000 entry ticket at Kangwon Land

Kangwon Land, in Jeongseon county in Gangwon Province, is the only casino in South Korea that admits Korean citizens; every other licensed casino in the country is foreigner-only¹². It is also the country's largest casino, and it charges a modest admission fee at the door: KRW 9,000 per person².

Unlike Singapore's levy, the Kangwon Land ticket applies to everyone, Korean and foreign visitor alike¹³. The practical requirements at the admission desk are an ID card and cash². There is no credit card option for the ticket, so bring Korean won. Once inside, the casino's own listed charges for entry are free beyond that admission ticket, and parking is free as well².

For foreign visitors, the KRW 9,000 ticket is the only entry fee you will ever pay in South Korea. The foreigner-only casinos in Seoul, Busan, Incheon and elsewhere charge nothing at the door; you show your passport and walk in. For Korean citizens, Kangwon Land is the single option, and the entry ticket is part of the deal.

Thailand's proposed entry fees: 1,000 baht for nationals, 5,000 baht for foreigners

Thailand does not yet have an open casino, but its draft entertainment complex framework, published in the Royal Gazette in September 2026, sets out entry fees in detail, and they are unusual in Asia: foreigners would pay more than locals⁴.

The proposed fee schedule works like this:

The draft also allows the fee to be waived or reduced for a minor entering with a parent or guardian, and leaves the fee for under-20s on training or educational visits blank in the schedule for later specification⁴. Foreigners would need to present a passport or equivalent document to enter¹⁴.

Note the direction of the fee: in Singapore and vietnam the levy exists to price locals out; in Thailand's draft, the higher 5,000 baht fee falls on foreigners. Whether these numbers survive into the final rules and the first opened casino remains to be seen, so treat them as the current proposal, not a price you will pay tomorrow.

Japan's planned JPY 6,000 levy under the IR Development Act

Japan's integrated resort law, passed in 2018, created the framework for the country's first legal casinos, and it includes an entry charge aimed at Japanese patrons. The national government will levy JPY 3,000 per entry to the casino gaming area, and the certified prefecture or city hosting the resort will levy a further JPY 3,000, for a total of JPY 6,000⁵. The figure was raised from an earlier lower proposal to 6,000 yen before submission to the Diet¹⁵.

The levy applies to entrants other than foreigners without residence in Japan: Japanese citizens and foreign residents of Japan pay, while tourists visiting on a short stay do not¹⁶.

The rules around repeat entry are more generous than Singapore's. Under the implementing regulations, an entrant who is still in the gaming area at the re-levy reference time must pay the entry levy again, but repeated entries within a period are exempt, and after the third payment the exemption runs until 24 hours have passed from the reference time¹⁷. In practice, a Japanese resident who pays three times in a stretch then gets a 24-hour window of free re-entry.

None of this is in force yet. The JPY 3,000 national entry fee and the JPY 3,000 certified prefecture entry fee, JPY 6,000 in total per 24-hour entry, will apply to Japanese nationals and foreign residents of Japan once the first integrated resort opens⁵. Foreign visitors without residence in Japan will not pay it.

Vietnam's entry fee for casino visitors

Vietnam began allowing Vietnamese nationals into licensed casinos under a 2017 pilot, and it adopted the Singapore model: locals buy an entry ticket at the door. The current ticket price, set out in the decree on casino business, is VND 1 million per 24 continuous hours per person, or VND 25 million per month per person¹⁶. Foreign visitors pay no entry fee.

A proposed new decree would raise those figures sharply: VND 2.5 million per 24 hours (about US$95) and VND 50 million per month (about US$1,906), which is 2.5 times the daily level and double the monthly level¹⁸. The Finance Ministry's proposal, reported in August 2025, gives the same numbers¹⁹. As of late 2025, the legal ticket level for Vietnamese players entering casino business points remained VND 1 million per 24 hours or VND 25 million per month²⁰, so the higher figures are a draft, not yet the price at the door.

The entry fee is only part of the cost for a Vietnamese player. To be admitted at all, a Vietnamese national must meet financial and other conditions, and the pilot scheme applies only to certain licensed casinos. Foreigners face none of this: no ticket, no conditions, just a passport at the door.

Where no levy applies

Everywhere else, the pattern is the same: the fees are aimed at locals, not visitors. Singapore's entry levy does not apply to foreign passport holders, who walk in free²¹. Unlike Singapore's levy, the Kangwon Land ticket applies to everyone, Korean and foreign visitor alike¹³. Some venues still enforce dress codes or membership formalities of their own, so it is worth checking a casino's own rules before you go.

The pattern to remember: an entry levy almost always means the casino admits local residents, and the fee is aimed at them. If a casino in Asia is foreigner-only, the odds are very good that entry is free.

Payment methods and what happens to the money

In Singapore, the levy can be paid in almost any way you like. The regulations accept cash, cashier's orders and money orders; debit and credit cards accepted by the casino operator; electronic funds transfer to the operator's bank account; and transfers of e-money to the operator's payment account¹⁰. In practice, most people pay by card at the levy counters or kiosks near the casino entrance.

At Kangwon Land, the contrast is sharp: the admission desk wants cash and an ID card, full stop². Plan for that if you are visiting Gangwon Province.

Where does the money go? In Singapore, the law requires every entry levy collected by a casino operator to be paid to the Singapore Totalisator Board within the prescribed time, and the Board must use it for public, social or charitable purposes in Singapore¹¹. So the S$150 you pay at Marina Bay Sands does not go to the casino at all; it funds charitable causes. In Japan, the design is explicit in the name: JPY 3,000 goes to the national government and JPY 3,000 to the local host government⁵. Vietnam's ticket revenue similarly flows to the state budget rather than the operator.

That funding purpose explains why the levies are non-negotiable and non-refundable. The casino is collecting the money on behalf of the state, not charging a price it controls, which is also why the operator is legally barred from waiving or refunding it¹¹.

A few practical points to close:

• Bring your ID. In Singapore, citizens and permanent residents are checked against the levy records at the door; in South Korea, Kangwon Land requires an ID card for the ticket; in Thailand's draft, foreigners would show a passport¹⁴. See casino ID requirements for the full picture.
• Check the clock. The Singapore daily levy starts at your first entry or 6 hours after payment, whichever is earlier⁸. Pay and enter promptly to get the full 24 hours.
• Do not expect a refund. In Singapore the levy is gone the moment it is paid, used or not¹⁰.
• Watch for changes. The Singapore Minister can vary the levy rates by order, Vietnam's higher ticket is still a draft¹⁸, and Thailand's fees are proposals⁴. The numbers on this page are current as of October 2026, but levies are the most frequently changed figures in Asian casino law.