Getting to the Starting Line Singapore’s Journey & Beyond
24 November 2011
Scope of Sharing
1) Introduction to Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA)
2) Singapore’s Integrated Resorts – Why?
3) CRA’s Journey
4) Singapore Casinos’ Opening & Learning Points for CRA
5) Q&A
(I) INTRODUCTION TO CASINO
REGULATORY AUTHORITY (CRA)
Casino Regulatory Authority
CRA - Statutory Board under Ministry of Home Affairs
• Governed by statutes
• Allows funding by the industry (casino licence fees)
• Provides flexibility
• in dealing with industry operators, reacting to ground situations
• in exercising operating and administrative authority as an
independent body
CRA’s Mission
1
2
Ensure that the
Ensure that gaming in the
management & operation of
casinos is conducted
the casinos remain free from
honestly
criminal influence or
3
exploitation;
Contain & control the potential of
the casinos to cause harm to
minors, vulnerable persons &
society at large.
Scope of Regulation
To prevent criminal infiltration and ensure
honest gaming
Patrons & others
e.g. Strict penalties against cheating,
Prevention of Money Laundering
controls
Electronic gaming machine
manufacturers/suppliers
Testing labs
(Recognition)
(Approval)
Business dealings with casinos
Junket promoters
Other vendors/suppliers
(Licensing)
(Approval of contracts)
Operators
(Licensing)
Special employees
(Licensing)
Main shareholders
Casino
(Approval)
Scope of Regulation
Social Safeguards: to contain and control the potential of a
casino to cause harm to minors, vulnerable persons & society
at large
•
•
Limiting entry access
• Entry levy
• Exclusion orders (CP EO,
NCPG EO, CRA EO)
• No minors (<21 years old)
• Credit restrictions
Forfeiture of winnings
• Voluntary loss limit system
• Advertising restrictions
• No ATMs in casinos
• Responsible gambling
measures
CRA Board
• Chairman Mr. Richard Magnus and 15 members
• Advises and provides strategic guidance to the management of
CRA to meet its objectives
• Board meets quarterly
• Policy and operational issues scrutinised
• Strategic directions established
• Decisions on major issues tabled to Board for approval
• Establish sound corporate governance
Organisation Structure
(II) Singapore’s Integrated Resorts –
Why?
History of Gaming (Singapore)
Time Period
• 1830s and rest of 19th century:
Widespread gaming in Singapore
• 1929 : Restricted legal outlet at
Singapore Turf Club
• 1950s and 1960s: Rampant Illegal
Gaming and Substantive Changes to
Gaming Laws
• 1968: Legalisation of Lotteries and
Establishment of Singapore Pools
History of Gaming (Singapore)
• Gaming in the 21st Century: By and large prohibited, except
where exemptions or permits were sought
– Betting Act, Betting and Sweepstake Duties Act, Common
Gaming Houses Act,
– Lottery (4-digit, Toto, Singapore Sweep, football betting)
allowed
• considered “leisure activities”
• 2010: Opening of the two Integrated Resorts (IRs) with casinos:
− Legalise gambling (Approved games) in casinos
Proposals for Casinos – Early Stages
Prior reasons for proposal of casinos (Timeline)
Time
Impetus
1985
• Severe recession in Singapore
2002
• Look for new strategies to grow our
economy
2004
•
•
Competition in Economy, similar to
2002
Ministry of Trade and Industry
(MTI) proposed for Integrated
Resort (with IR)
Why Integrated Resorts for Singapore
• Changing Circumstances
• Losing ground in tourism.
• No tourism infrastructure
projects that are crowd pullers.
• Cities around the world are
reinventing themselves
• New York, Paris, Shanghai,
Hong Kong, etc
• Japan, S Korea, India, Thailand
Taiwan, Philippines – may
legalise / liberalise casino
gaming
Why Integrated Resorts for Singapore
• Boost Singapore’s attractiveness as a tourist destination
• Significant Economic Benefits for Singapore
• Investments
• Economic Spin Offs
• Tourism receipts
• Jobs
Why Integrated Resorts for Singapore
The IRs will have all kinds of amenities – hotels, restaurants,
shopping, convention space, even theatres, museums and
theme parks. They attract hundreds of thousands of visitors
per year. The great majority will not be there to gamble. But
within this large development and slew of activities, there is
one small but essential part which offers gaming and which
helps make the entire project financially viable. As a result,
there is no need for government grants or subsidies.
The IRs will change our downtown skyline and transform
Sentosa into a truly high-quality resort destination. They will
make Singapore a centre for tourism, business and
conventions... There will be spin-offs to the rest of the
economy.
--- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
April 2005
Significant Economic Benefits of the IR
20,000
10,000 direct jobs per IR
(when 100% open)
US$10b
Investment by both IRs
Assessment
Two-stage Process
• Request for Concept (or RFC)
• process whereby interested bidders presented concept
proposals for the Integrated Resorts
• Not binding offers
• 80+ concepts presented – YES!
• Request for Proposals (or RFP)
• Tender document containing rules, guidelines, conditions
etc, under which Integrated Resorts and casinos will be built
RFP
• Spelled out desired outcomes of IR
• Iconic development, unique and differentiated
• Compelling mix of attractions, entertainment, MICE facilities,
hotel, retail, F&B
• Bring in strong affiliates with strong credentials
• Branding, programming, design, content, etc.
• Enhance Singapore’s image/reputation as dynamic tourist
destination
• Attract foreign visitors to casino; keep resident participation
small proportion
• Locked in key provisions; later in Casino Control Act
RFP
RFP - Key Provisions for Casino Gaming
• Casino concession – 30 years
• Remain suitable throughout concession period
• Casino tax
• 15% GGR
• 5% GGR for premium players
• Issuance of casino licence
• 50% Development Investment has been paid
• 50% of proposed gross floor area completed
RFP
RFP - Key Provisions for Casino Gaming
• Allowed for 2 casino licences
• Review of casino licence every 3 years
• Non-transferable casino licence
• Maximum gaming area – 15,000 sqm
• Casino regulations and licence fees
• Security, law and order requirements
• Social safeguards
Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS)
MarinaMarina
Bay Sands
Bay Sands(MBS)
(MBS)
Two Integrated Resorts Established
• Two Integrated Resorts with casinos allowed
• Tourist-directed
• Integrated Resort Concept
• Casinos - but one of many amenities
Some Brief Comparisons…
Sweden
Singapore
4 casinos
2 casinos
Lotteries and horse racing are
regulated by the Lotteries Act of
1994 and the Casino Act of 1999.
Lotteries - Toto, Singapore Sweep
regulated under the Betting and
Sweepstake Act, Common Gaming
House Act and Private Lotteries Act
Population: about 9.4 million
(off Wikipedia)
Population: 5.18 million
Largest of the four casinos in
Sweden – Casino Cosmopol
Stockholm - offers 37,674 square
feet of gaming space (i.e. 3,500
square metres)
Both of Singapore’s casinos are allowed
a maximum of 15,000 square metres of
gaming space
• Videos of opening of RWS and MBS
(III) CRA’s Journey to Casino Opening
Key milestones leading towards opening
Timeline
Event
2004
• MTI’s proposal for Integrated Resorts
2006
• Casino Control Act passed in Parliament
(Feb 06)
• Marina Bay IR awarded to Las Vegas on 26
May 2006
• Sentosa IR awarded to Genting International
and Star Cruises on 8 Dec 2006
2008
• CRA established (2 Apr 08)
• Casino Control Act came into effect (Jul 08)
2010
• RWS casino opens (14 Feb 2010)
• MBS casino opens (27 Apr 2010)
Extensive Preparations
• Casino Control Act has five main areas
• Constitution of the CRA
• Licensing Regimes
• Casino Operations
• Casino Tax
• Social Safeguards
• From 2008 onwards, promulgated the necessary subsidiary
legislation to support the Casino Control Act
• 15 Casino Control Regulations
• Over 30 sets of game rules
• 7 technical standards
• 8 technical notices
Extensive Preparations
• 6 Feb 2010 - awarded casino licence to Resorts World Sentosa
• 26 Apr 2010 - awarded casino licence to Marina Bay Sands
• Lead-up to casino openings • issued more than 6500 Special Employee Licences
• approved more than:
o 2600 Electronic Gaming Machines,
o 40 types of Gaming equipment,
o 24 Gaming Machine manufacturers & suppliers,
o 6 Singapore Recognised Testing Laboratores
Extensive Preparations
1) Learning from International Counterparts
• Extensive study visits (US, Australia, Macau, UK)
• Requests for information
• Training attachments
• Training Symposiums
• G2E
• Participation in overseas regulatory fora
• International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR)
• Australasian Casino and Gaming Regulators (ACGR)
Extensive Preparations
2) Extensive research by CRA staff
• Active research of multi-jurisdictional practices, especially
best practices
• Deep probing – rationale, mistakes made, what could have
been done better if you had the chance to do it all over
again.
Extensive Preparations
3) Leveraging on Expertise
• Hiring specialists, e.g. probity investigations
• Cooperation with Regulators and local Law Enforcement
Agencies (LEAs)
• Regulator-to-regulator cooperation
• Attachment of two Queensland inspectors to CRA during
opening period
• Bi-annual CRA-CID Training Symposiums
- invited speakers and participants from reference regulators
(law enforcement and regulation units)
4) Active Engagement of Industry and Operators
• CRA’s Technology Forum
• Regular consultations and operator meetings
(IV) Singapore Casinos’
Opening & Learning Points for CRA
Learning Points
1) CRA as a Statutory Board under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
• role to keep crime out of casinos closely tied to enforcement (thus
our affiliation with law and order/ security-related Home Ministry)
• ready pool of officers with relevant expertise from the different
divisions and departments under the purview of the Home Ministry
2) CRA’s firm regulatory stance - compliance before commerce
• firm but fair
• benchmarked against best practices of foreign jurisdictions
• casino operator has primary responsibility to comply
Learning Points
3) Close & early engagement with casino operator is crucial
• e.g. approval of gaming equipment, licensing of special
employees
• prioritisation of operator needs
• close coordination of operators’ timelines with CRA’s
• setting of regulator expectations
Learning Points
4) Training of CRA inspectors & good internal preparations are
key
• no major surprises
• aggressively sent our officers overseas to learn
• CRA developed comprehensive checklist to guide pre-opening
prep
• table-top exercise for CRA management
• table-top exercise, mock casino, test session for operator
Learning Points
5) Engagement of specialist expertise/advice complemented
CRA’s lack of practical experience
(e.g. Australian ex-regulators, SGG consultants)
• available for on-the-spot consulting
• walked through opening 7 days with CRA for 1st casino
opening
• By 2nd casino opening, CRA was able to see it through on its
own
Learning Points
6) Useful to have CRA team on-site to closely monitor
opening period
• CRA Mgt were on-site for first 7 days
• daily meetings with CE of the casino operators & mgt
• point out deficiencies so that they could remedy quickly
• respond to & clarify operators’ operational queries
• show operators that CRA is on top of situation & closely
monitoring
7) Good coordination between CRA & Police
• investigations into offences, crowd management
• RWS’ opening on 14 Feb 2010, the first day of CNY, saw
large crowds turning up at the casino.
• CRA reacted swiftly with SPF & worked with RWS to devise
a more effective crowd management system.
Learning Points
8) Useful to have technical expertise on-site
(e.g. gaming manufacturers, systems engineers)
allowed for fast response
e.g. during the opening week, the volume of activity was so
heavy that there was a shortage of slots and electronics table
game terminals to meet patron demand. Many patrons had
actually queued to play, which is an uncommon sight during
casino openings.
This called for minimum recovery time in terms of resolving
technical glitches and having the technical expertise from the
manufacturers onsite effectively alleviated the pressure
experienced during the opening.
Learning Points
9) Important to internally review what CRA did right, could improve
- CRA conducted internal after action review, by Division &
across whole of CRA
10) Important to firmly place onus on casino operator to comply with
regulatory requirements
– strong message reiterated to operators’ mgt
– highlighting observations to keep operators on its toes & in
compliance mode (e.g. dealers forgetting to announce closing of
bets)
Learning Points
11) Be firm but fair
– CRA exercised flexibility in dealing with technical breaches, such
as software faults, so long as gaming integrity is preserved
– expected teething issues, got operator to remedy
(provided not intentional or willful)
Beyond Opening…..
Clarifying our regulatory stance
• Continuous review and strengthening of the regime
– moving towards a more outcome based approach
• Forging strategic partnerships within and outside of Singapore
– deepening of our expertise
– keep apace with rapid industry developments (particularly
Asia)
• Enhancing its organisational capabilities.
– develop new capabilities, grow existing capabilities
• Encourage operators to engage regulators, take ownership
and do their part as responsible operators
Forging Partnerships
Social safeguards
Security & Law Enforcement
SPF
Tax/Finance
CNB
Economic/Tourism
Forging Partnerships
New Jersey
Division of Gaming
Enforcement
2) International
Networks
United States
Nevada
Gaming
Control Board
1) Referenced Jurisdictions
Australasia
Casino &
Gaming
Singapore
Regulators
3) Local partnerships
Australia
IAGR 2012
•
•
•
•
Singapore hosts IAGR 2012
Date: 21-24 October 2012
Venue: Pan Pacific Hotel
Visit www.iagr.org for more information
(V) Q&A