Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) restored casino entry levies for Singapore citizens and permanent residents to S$150 (US$114) per day and S$3,000 yearly on May 8, 2024, after an earlier order lapsed and the levies automatically reverted to lower rates1. The ministry disclosed the lapse on Aug 6, 2024, in a press release accompanying the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill, which Minister of State for Home Affairs and for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling introduced in Parliament that day1.
The levies were raised on Apr 4, 2019, from S$100 daily and S$2,000 annually, under the Casino Control (Variation of Entry Levies) Order 2019, which was valid for five years until Apr 3, 20241. MHA overlooked the expiry, so the levies reverted to the lower rates on Apr 4, 20241. The two casinos collected about S$4.4 million more than was legally allowed between Apr 4 and May 7, 20241. MHA said it discovered the lapse after an email query from a member of the public in April2.
"It was always the government's intent to maintain the higher entry levies beyond the five-year period."
The Bill proposes to state the higher levies in the Casino Control Act itself and to validate the sums collected during the lapse, meaning the money is deemed validly collected; no legal proceedings may be instituted on or after Aug 6, 2024, over those sums2. MHA said it does not intend to refund any part of the levies collected during the lapse2. All entry levies collected by a casino operator are paid to the Tote Board and must be used for public, social or charitable purposes in Singapore2. MHA said there are no plans to increase the entry levy for now1.
| Period | Daily levy | Annual levy |
|---|---|---|
| Before Apr 4, 2019 | S$100 | S$2,000 |
| Apr 4, 2019 to Apr 3, 2024 | S$150 | S$3,000 |
| Apr 4 to May 7, 2024 (lapsed) | S$100 | S$2,000 |
| From May 8, 2024 | S$150 | S$3,000 |
The Bill also makes breaching a Family Visit Limit a punishable offense, with an excluded person liable to a fine of up to S$10,000 and up to 12 months in jail; about five individuals breach their Family Visit Limit on average each year1. It proposes that the National Council on Problem Gambling and its committees be able to immediately substitute an Exclusion Order with a Visit Limit, and vice versa, a process that currently takes one to two months1. It also creates offenses for withdrawing bets after a game's result is known and for recording play patterns of non-card games to cheat casinos, and allows the two operators to share patrons' information to tackle money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing1.
What it means for players
Singapore citizens and permanent residents pay the levy to enter the casinos at Resorts World Sentosa, run by Genting Singapore, and Marina Bay Sands, run by Las Vegas Sands1. The daily and annual rates are back at S$150 and S$3,000, and the Bill would fix them in the Casino Control Act rather than in a separate order that can lapse1. Anyone who paid the higher rate during the April 4 to May 7 lapse will not be refunded2. Foreigners are not covered by these levies, which apply to citizens and permanent residents1. MHA said citizens and permanent residents who visited the casinos in 2023 were about 3 percent of the Singapore adult population, and probable problem and pathological gambling rates among residents have been low and stable at about 1 percent2.
What happens next
The Casino Control (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Parliament on Aug 6, 20241. The sources do not report a date for its second reading, passage or commencement.
