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Singapore’s Economy Exlpodes with the 1st Year of its Casino Enterprises

Posted on February 16th, 2011

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In 2010, the first casinos in Singapore was launched after a ban on gambling establishments was lifted by the government. The casinos are today known as the “integrated resorts”. The first casino was erected in the Malaysian-controlled Resorts World Sentosa which also houses the Southeast Asia’s first Universal Studios theme park. Soon to follow a couple of months after, is Nevada-based gaming company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., as they introduced Marina Bay Sands to the Asian market. The casino’s structural features are an architectural tourist destination on its own, with its three curving towers equipped with a looming “SkyPark” crafted to resemble an ocean liner.

These gaming ventures, today, take the credit for Singapore’s booming economy. This has cuased many analysts to speculate that the country will eventually compete with Macau as Asia’s hottest gambling capital. Pricewaterhouse Coopers, a financial consultancy agency, stated in a 2010 account of the city’s economic standpoint, that, “Singapore has a dramatic entry to the casino gaming market.” The report continued on declaring Singapore’s casino gaming market as having reached $2.8 billion in revenue. Pricewaterhouse Coopers also believed that Singapore, within this year, would most probably be the second largest Asia-Pacific casino market, next to Macau, leaving behind other countries such as South Korea and Australia. The financial consultancy agency proclaimed that, “In 2011, with a full year’s operation for both resorts, we expect revenues to reach $5.5 billion, growing to $8.3 billion by 2014.”

Tourism increased with the operation of the destination casinos, increasing the number of vacationers from a 10.3 million record set in 2007, to an 11.6 million figure for the previous year. Tourists coming from the Asia-Pacific regions of mainland China, Australia, Indonesia, and India comprise 53 percent of visitors that frequent the gambling establishments of Singapore. Leong Wai Ho, senior regional economist of Barclays Capital, affirmed that, “Visitor arrivals have really come in stronger and I think that’s a direct spinoff from having the IRs on shore.” He further announced that the casino resorts were strongly contributing 0.3 to 0.4 percent GDP in the regions, which are being expected to increase even more, in the near future, to a 0.7 percentage. He did emphasize that such figures were reached during the periods when both IRs were fully-functioning, with a potential for more to come.

Las Vegas Sands, the parent company of Marina Bay Sands, in turn, has released its most recent financial statement, boasting of the Singapore casino’s success in the gambling industry with its $1.02 billion revenue. The financial activities of Resorts World Sentosa, on the other hand, were kept private as its officials refused to publicize its casino operation’s revenue figures. A record of its ninth month in operation which ended in September 30, 2010, reveals, though, that its total revenue stood at a $1.53 billion figure. Jonathan Galaviz, a casino industry analyst from Las Vegas, estimated that at least 60 percent of all casino revenues represent the sum for Resorts World Sentosa. The resorts have also been responsible for the countless jobs that Singaporeans have had the opportunity to earn a living with. The Universal Studios, though, which is situated in the Resorts World Sentosa premises, is a non-gambling attraction which continually attracts crowds from all parts of Asia, making tourism a critical economic component for Singapore’s economy.

Civic and church groups, due to this widespread gambling in the city, have protested against the detrimental social impacts that large-scale gambling has brought along. Tan Lye Keng, executive director of One Hope Center, a Christian organization for gambling addicts had clearly emphasized his concern over the growing trend of pathological gamblers, saying, “Definitely with the opening of the casinos, we have seen an increase in gambling addicts seeking help.” He later asserted to the media that the imposed Sg$100 entrance fee, equivalent to $78, does not stop individuals from all classes of life from walking into the doors of gambing sites. As a solution, family members of gambling addicts can work with casino personnel to ban such individuals from entering the casinos.