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Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) released their 2017-2018 annual report and it revealed that the fines that were levied against the two casino resort operators in the city-state were down by 63.6 percent when compared to the previous year.
The report states that a total of S$60,000 in monetary penalties were assessed between April 1, 2017, and March 31st , 2018 when compared to the S$165,000 in fines that were assessed in the previous year.
During the 2017-18 fiscal year, Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd was issued a fine of S$5,000 for failing to stop a permanent resident from entering their casino without paying the entry levy.
Such levies are charged to Singaporean citizens who wish to enter casino areas of the resorts. Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd was issued a total of S$55,000 for failing to stop three minors as well as an excluded person from accessing their casino floor. All customers must be at least 21 in order to legally gain entry to casinos in Singapore.
Casino-Related Crime Under Control
In the report, the Casino Regulatory Authorities’ chairman Tan Tee How said that one of the goals of the CRA is to make sure that casinos are managed and operated by individuals who have a clean record and no ties to malpractices. While many gaming regulators are concerned about the rise in gambling related crimes, Singapore’s CRA confirmed that gambling related crimes was under control.
Tan stated that casino-related crime makes up a small percentage of Singapore’s overall crime and that organized crime has not infiltrated Singapore’s casinos. He added that the rates of problem gambling have remained steady at about 1 percent since the gaming resorts were opened.
The CRA’s chief executive Jerry See said that being able to successfully contain the risk of casino-related crime was due in large to the collaboration between several agencies including the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the National Council on Problem Gamblingand Singapore’s police force.
CRA Open To New Tech
Tan described how modern gaming platforms are changing the landscape in gambling jurisdictions around the world. He said that the CRA is going to need to adapt to cryptocurrencies and skill-based games that are in other gaming markets. Mr. See said that the CRA put the Gaming Equipment System (GAMES) in place so that they could do a better job of managing data and information on gaming equipment.
