Casinos in Singapore

Two licensed casinos: Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa

Two casinos operate in Singapore: Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, both opened in 2010 as part of large integrated resorts, and both remain the only places in the country where you can play table games and slot machines in a full casino setting¹. The law allows two casinos only, no more⁵.

The first is Marina Bay Sands, the iconic three-tower hotel across the water from Singapore's Central Business District⁶. The second is Resorts World Sentosa, a lifestyle destination resort on Sentosa, the resort island off Singapore's south coast⁷. Each casino sits inside a much bigger complex with hotels, dining, shopping and attractions, so a visit can be part of a full day or weekend out.

Casino gambling is one of the legalized forms of gambling in Singapore, alongside betting with Singapore Pools, social gambling and jackpot gambling in private clubs¹. If you want the wider picture, see gambling in Singapore; this page stays with the two casinos and the club jackpot rooms.

Entry levy: S$150 a day for citizens and permanent residents

The single biggest difference between visitors and locals is the entry levy. Any Singapore citizen or permanent resident who wants to enter either casino must pay one⁸. The levy comes in two forms:

The daily levy buys a consecutive period of 24 hours, not a calendar day, so a levy paid at 9 pm runs to 9 pm the next evening¹⁰. The annual levy runs for 12 months from its effective date¹¹.

You can pay the levy with cash, NETS, or the casino's approved debit and credit cards⁹. It is non-refundable in most circumstances: there is no refund if the casino closes for any reason such as a pandemic, or if you hold an exclusion order, visit limit or other entry restriction imposed by the operator⁸.

Foreign visitors pay nothing. The levy exists purely as a deterrent for locals, and the price was raised from S$100 to S$150 in the 2024 amendments to the Casino Control Act¹². For the full detail on how the levy works, see Singapore's casino entry levy.

Resident or visitor: which rules apply to you

At the casino entrance, the rules split cleanly by status. Singapore citizens and permanent residents must use the lane marked "Singapore/PR" when entering and exiting, and non-residents must use the lane marked "Foreigners"⁹.

What each group needs at the door:

• Citizens and permanent residents: valid ID such as your NRIC, Singapore driving license, SAF, SCDF or SPF NS ID card, re-entry permit and passport for permanent residents, or a Singapore government-issued passport, plus payment of the entry levy⁹.
• Foreign visitors: photo ID proving you are not a citizen or permanent resident, such as a foreign passport with a short-term visit visa, long-term visit visa, student visa or work visa, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs ID card, or MOM/ICA special passes with photo⁹.

The minimum age is 21 for everyone, citizen or visitor. A minor is defined in the law as a person below 21, and acceptable proof of age must show you are at least 21¹³. This is higher than the age of 18 that applies at Singapore Pools outlets¹⁴.

One more point worth knowing: you enter and remain on casino premises only by the license of the casino operator¹³. In practice this means the casino can refuse entry or ask anyone to leave, and it must bar anyone who is excluded (see the exclusion section below).

Marina Bay Sands Casino: games, floors and getting there

Marina Bay Sands sits across the water from the Central Business District, attached to a hotel with some 2,560 rooms and suites across three 55-storey towers⁶. The casino itself is spread over four luxuriously decorated floors¹⁵.

The scale is large even by regional standards. The casino holds 600 gaming tables, with a potential capacity of 1,000 tables, and 1,500 gaming machines². The operator's own page puts the machine count at more than 3,000 electronic gaming machines, reflecting expansions since the original figure¹⁵.

The games you can play, as set out in the official game rules for the casino, include baccarat, blackjack and pontoon, dice games, poker games, roulette, semi-automated electronic table games (ETGs), and other games¹⁶. All table games are played with casino game chips, which you buy at the table or at the casino cage¹⁵. Most of the Marina Bay Sands exclusive games are held in an elegant salon on the upper floor, which is where the highest-stakes action sits¹⁵.

A major expansion of the whole resort is underway, announced in April 2024, with targeted completion by July 2029⁶, so expect the complex to keep growing.

For entry rules in detail, how to get there and what to expect on the day, see the full page on the Marina Bay Sands casino.

Resorts World Sentosa Casino: games, location and getting there

Resorts World Sentosa is a lifestyle destination resort on Sentosa, Singapore's resort island⁷. The casino, branded Resorts World Casino, sits alongside Universal Studios Singapore, Adventure Cove Waterpark, the Singapore Oceanarium, a Research and Learning Centre, and the Resorts World Convention Centre⁷, so it is easy to combine a casino visit with a theme park day or a beach afternoon.

The official game rules for the casino list the same core families of games as Marina Bay Sands: baccarat, blackjack and pontoon, dice games, poker games, roulette, semi-automated electronic table games, and other games¹⁷. In practice the two casinos offer a similar spread, with RWS somewhat smaller in floor scale than its downtown rival.

Getting there is straightforward: Sentosa is connected to the main island by road, cable car, the Sentosa Express monorail and a boardwalk, and the resort sits at the island's waterfront end. For the full detail, see the page on the Resorts World Sentosa casino.

For a comparison of the games themselves, including how each game family works, see casino games in Singapore.

Jackpot machine rooms: SAFRA and the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club

Beyond the two big casinos, Singapore also legalized jackpot gambling in private clubs¹. These are smaller rooms with gaming machines rather than full casinos, and they are where many locals actually play slots.

The best-known cluster is at SAFRA, the national servicemen's club network, which runs jackpot rooms at Mount Faber, Jurong, Tampines and Toa Payoh. There is also a jackpot machine room at the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. Exclusions and visit limits apply to these rooms in the same way as to the casinos¹⁸.

The machines on offer include progressive jackpot slots, where the top prize builds across a network. Examples of the format include a classic 5-reel progressive slot with a single large jackpot triggered by landing five pharaoh symbols, a luxury-themed slot with three progressive jackpot levels and a bonus wheel trigger, and networked jackpot games such as Jackpot King by Blueprint Gaming¹⁹.

For the room-by-room detail, see the pages on the SAFRA jackpot rooms and the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club jackpot room, or the overview of jackpot machine rooms in Singapore.

Money inside the casino: chips, cash and cards

A few practical rules shape how money works once you are inside.

Chips have limited uses. Casino chips can be used only for casino gambling, or for giving tips and gratuities to people employed within the casino premises²⁰. They are not general currency.

You cannot take large amounts of chips out. It is illegal to remove casino chips or slot machine coupons totaling S$10,000 or more from Marina Bay Sands; a conviction carries a fine of up to S$150,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years⁹. A parallel rule prohibits a casino from issuing chips in exchange for another operator's chips equal to or exceeding S$10,000 in aggregate value in a single business day²⁰.

There are no ATMs on the casino floor. Automatic teller machines are prohibited within casino premises⁵, so you need to withdraw cash before you enter or use the cage with an approved payment method.

Casino gambling sits outside the general gambling law. The Gambling Control Act 2022, which governs most other gambling in Singapore, does not apply to gambling carried on within any casino; casinos remain regulated under the Casino Control Act 2006²¹. One recent change does reach the floor, though: the offense of recording games has been expanded to cover the recording of non-card games such as gaming machines, so think twice before filming a machine²².

For how to move money in and out of gambling in Singapore generally, see gambling payments in Singapore.

Exclusion orders and self-exclusion

Singapore runs a fairly comprehensive exclusion system covering the two casinos, the jackpot machine rooms at private clubs, and Singapore Pools online betting¹⁸. There are several kinds:

• Self-exclusion: you apply voluntarily to ban yourself. A person may apply to be banned from all casino premises, all gaming machine rooms, all general remote gambling, or any combination¹².
• Voluntary visit limit: instead of a full ban, you can apply to limit the number of visits you make to the casinos in a calendar month²³.
• Family exclusion: a family member can apply for an order against a relative, covering the Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands casinos²⁴.
• Third-party exclusion: imposed by the National Council on Problem Gambling without any application, to ban or limit individuals who have a poor credit record or are vulnerable to financial harm from their gambling²⁵.
• Exclusion by law: imposed automatically on financially vulnerable groups, meaning undischarged bankrupts and people on government-funded social assistance programs or subsidy schemes²².

Applying for self-exclusion is free. You can apply online with SingPass at the NCPG online portal, or in person at 510 Thomson Road, #05-01, SLF Building, Singapore 298135²⁶. Organizations with a Corppass account can also facilitate group self-exclusion applications for their employees or members, with the individuals' consent²⁷.

Once excluded, a person must not enter casino premises, and the operator must bar them¹³. For the full detail, see casino exclusion and visit limits in Singapore, and for where to get help, gambling help in Singapore.

Penalties for players

The penalties that can touch an ordinary player are modest but real, and they mostly concern entry rules rather than play itself.

For citizens and permanent residents, entering the casino without paying the levy, or staying on after the paid 24-hour period ends without paying for the overstay, makes you liable to a fine of up to S$1,500, plus the levy amount for the period involved³. Marina Bay Sands states the same offense on its own terms, with a fine of up to S$1,000 plus the overstay levy⁹.

Minors and excluded persons face a fine of up to S$1,000 at Marina Bay Sands if they enter or remain in breach of the rules, and any prizes paid to them are forfeited, with the casino holding the right to recover them⁹.

Outside the casinos, under the Gambling Control Act 2022, an individual found in an unlawful gambling place faces a fine of up to S$10,000 or imprisonment of up to 6 months or both, and playing on a prohibited or unapproved gaming machine carries the same maximum²⁸. Underaged gambling carries a fine of up to S$1,500, and an underaged person using false evidence of age to gamble faces a fine of up to S$10,000²⁸.

For the wider picture of rules and penalties across all forms of gambling, see gambling rules and penalties in Singapore.