Singapore Today

SINGAPORE - The presence of the Integrated Resorts (IRs) here has not caused a spike in the number of gambling addicts, said Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) chairman Richard Magnus yesterday, citing a study done by the Institute of Mental Health.

Speaking at a question and answer session at the 23rd Singapore Law Review Annual Lecture, Mr Magnus said that the study concluded that gambling addiction numbers before and after the establishment of the IRs remained the same.

What the IRs did, though, was provide "just another avenue for gambling", said Mr Magnus.

He added: "The thinking is that some of these gamblers moved away from the traditional gambling areas and move into casinos."

Responding to a question on the social impact of casinos, CRA chief executive Lau Peet Meng, who was also at the event, revealed that the authorities are studying overseas models where it is compulsory for gamblers to declare how much they want to lose before they step into the casino.

Currently, patrons to the IRs here can voluntarily cap their gambling outlay.

On the call for greater transparency with regard to the number of Singaporeans entering the casinos, Mr Lau agreed that this could be looked into.

"It is ... probably one of the aspects of the (Casino Control) Act (that) we need to look at more carefully, which is the legality of the information and how the information shared can be used," he said.

But Mr Magnus reiterated: "I can perhaps give you the assurance that the local urban legend that quite a number of our locals or PRs frequent the casinos ... is just a legend."

Mr Magnus noted that several challenges lie ahead in the regulation of the IRs.

Apart from the "creative ways of money laundering", the casino industry might also change in the years ahead from one that is incentivised to self-regulate - due to the high profits - to one where the industry turns stale.

Earlier in his speech, Mr Magnus also said that, while the authorities hope that the IRs are "mature participants who see the value of self-regulation ... we cannot discount the possibility of market failure".

He added that there will be occasions where the casino operators and regulator will not view self-disclosure as a win-win situation and that will be when CRA needs to intervene.