The tourism performance of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) was “unsatisfactory” over a three-year period, according to a statutory board that issues licences to gambling operators.
This was announced by the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) in a
statement on Monday (18 Nov).
RWS’ tourism performance was evaluated from 1 Jan 2021 to 31 Dec 2023, GRA said.
This assessment by an independent panel took into account the integrated resort’s ability to “develop, maintain and promote” itself as a “compelling tourist destination that meets prevailing market demand and industry standards”.
Besides the panel, views of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore Tourism Board, and Sentosa Development Corporation were also considered.
After the evaluation, the panel found “a number of areas” that required “rectification and substantial improvement”, GRA said.
Thus, an “unsatisfactory” rating was handed out.
The panel recommended that RWS be evaluated again in two years, i.e. 2026.
Accordingly, RWS’ casino licence was renewed for two years from 6 Feb 2025.
In contrast, the normal length of a casino licence is three years, according to
Regulation 5 of the Casino Control (Casino Licence and Fees) Regulations 2009.
GRA, however, may issue a licence shorter than three years “for any other reason” if it is of the opinion that three years “is not appropriate”.
At the end of last year, GRA fined RWS S$2.25 million, according to a
statement on 8 Dec 2023.
This was for failing to perform due diligence checks on customers, which were required when cash of S$5,000 or more was deposited into a patron’s account.
GRA said between December 2016 and December 2019, RWS didn’t perform the checks when its employees collected cash of S$5,000 or more from third parties for depositing into patrons’ accounts.
Specifically, the identities of the third-party depositors weren’t established — the requisite identifying information wasn’t recorded, nor were their identities verified using “reliable and independent sources” as required under regulations against money laundering and terrorism financing.
GRA also flagged “systemic failures” that resulted in non-detection of the non-compliances, saying:
GRA took a “serious view” of the lapses and “will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against errant casino operators”, it added.
Thus, it would continue to exercise tight supervision over the operators’ compliance with regulatory requirements.
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