Singapore casinos fined for breaching social safeguards
The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore (CRA) said yesterday that it imposed financial penalties totalling S$357,500 (RM935,000) on Marina Bay Sands (MBS). — File picSINGAPORE, Aug 23 — The two Integrated Resorts (IRs) have been fined for breaking social safeguard requirements, including letting Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) enter without paying the S$100 entry levies.
The Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore (CRA) said yesterday that it imposed financial penalties totalling S$357,500 (RM935,000) and S$140,000 on Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), respectively.
The breaches took place between May and October last year. The CRA said the IRs failed to stop persons under exclusion orders from entering, as well as Singaporeans and PRs who did not pay the entry levies, including those who had stayed beyond the 24 hours’ validity of their entry levies.
RWS was also fined and censured for allowing minors to enter and remain in its casino.
MBS was censured for “failing to ensure a winning message was accurately displayed” on an electronic gaming machine on October 18 last year, in a high profile case where a patron, Madam Choo Hong Eng, hit the jackpot and got into a dispute with MBS over the winnings.
Mdm Choo was eventually paid S$416,742.11 last year by MBS. The CRA said its investigations showed that there was “no deliberate intention by the operator to deceive or deprive Mdm Choo of her prize”.
When contacted, an RWS spokesperson reiterated that it takes the lapses “seriously and will continue to fine-tune our entry systems and processes”.
An MBS spokesperson said it “remains committed to comply with the rules and regulations of the Casino Regulatory Authority”. — Today
