SINGAPORE: Parliament has passed amendments to the Casino Control Bill.
Wrapping up the debate which
began on Thursday, Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran acknowledged the
strong and diverse views expressed by members.
He said the government had made
the commitment to put in place a strong regulatory framework when they had
decided to go ahead with the Integrated Resorts, and this commitment and
determination remains till today.
Addressing suggestions to scrap
the annual entry levy, Mr Iswaran said the significant upfront cost of an
annual entry levy does deter those without the means from purchasing such
annual levies.
Of the total number of entry
levies, comprising annual entry levies and daily entry levies purchased by
locals in 2011, less than one per cent arose from annual entry levies.
Mr Iswaran said: "The entry
levy system is just one part of our entire framework of social safeguard
measures, which includes exclusion orders, targeted measures for the
financially vulnerable, and, soon, visit limits. These will apply whether one
pays an annual or daily levy."
Mr Png Eng Huat, MP for Hougang,
said: "The minister said the annual levy is designed for them. The
confusion is caused when on one side you have the day levy is $100 dollars
whereas the annual levy when divided by annual safeguard is $5.50. If the
annual levy is meant for premium players, then it shouldn't be called a
safeguard."
Mr Iswaran said: "In most
regimes they don't pay to go to their casinos. So whether you pay a hundred
dollars or two thousand dollars, that is part of the social safeguard
regime."
Addressing concerns on safeguards
for gambling beyond the casino, Mr Iswaran, who is also the Second Minister for
Trade and Industry, said the government has commenced a review of its
regulatory framework and social safeguards for non-casino gambling, including
online gaming.
"Online gambling, including
gambling on social media platforms and mobile devices, is growing in many countries.
Many of the emerging online gambling products are also potentially more
addictive. Our objective remains the same, which is to preserve our values of
thrift and hard work, and protect our society, especially the vulnerable, from
the potential harms of gambling," he said.
Mr Iswaran added that the value
proposition of the two IRs lie in the economic benefits that they bring, and
their roles in making Singapore a vibrant and dynamic economy.
Today, the two integrated resorts
hire more than 22,000 employees. Of these 70 per cent are locals - Singapore
Citizens and PRs.
Based on the figures released by
the IRs, this is more than 15,000 locals. And of these, 80 per cent are
Singapore citizens.
About 80 per cent of the IRs
contracts were also awarded to local companies in a variety of sectors.
Mr Iswaran said the IRs will have
to continually reinvest and upgrade all areas of their operations in order to
ensure they are internationally competitive as tourist destinations. He said
the aim is to keep the IRs as an important piece of Singapore's tourism
offering in the coming years.
But he also reassured members
that the IRs are not the only plan to grow Singapore's tourism sector or
economy.
Mr Iswaran said: "The two
Integrated Resorts contribute about 1.5 to 2 per cent of our Gross Domestic
Product, that's based on the first two years numbers. The 22,400 employees
employed by the IRs comprise about 0.7 per cent of our total labour force, or
about 2 per cent if you include the other 40,000 jobs created elsewhere.
Similarly, the gaming taxes comprise a small fraction of Government revenues.
"In FY 2011, after taking
into account the displacement factor, because with the advent of the IRs, some
of the other sources of gambling revenue have diminished. The net increase in
tax revenues due to the IR casinos was $1.1 billion, 2.2 per cent of total
government operating revenue. These are hardly the basis on which the
government would have fiscal addiction to revenues by the Irs.
"Several speakers have made
comparisons between Singapore and Macau. I would like to put these comparisons
in perspective. In 2011, Macau's gaming revenue was US$33.5 billion, or about
92 per cent of their GDP. As a gaming market, Macau is more than seven times
bigger than Singapore. We are at no risk of being another Macau or being overly
dependent on the casinos or Irs."
- CNA/de
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