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SINGAPORE
As Casino Opens, Watch for Its Social Impact Begins
By Stanislaus Jude Chan
SINGAPORE, Mar 10, 2010 (IPS) - An unfamiliar sight in Singapore – that of vehicles with foreign licence plates
filling the car park – meets visitors at the basement of the city-state’s first
casino, which opened nearly a month ago.
But surprises are to be expected after the casino opened its doors to its first
clients during the Chinese New Year on Feb. 14 – and to a proverbial
Pandora’s Box of social impacts to be seen in the coming months and years.
On the surface, Resort World Sentosa (RWS), which the casino is part of, is a
theme park for the family. The façade of a fairytale castle looms on the
horizon on the way to Sentosa gateway bridge, inviting visitors to enter into a
world of fantasy. Inside it, a labyrinth of quaint buildings, gathering spaces
and water features manufacture a different reality.
"It's very beautiful!" crooned nine-year-old Samantha Tan, who pleaded
with her parents to bring her and her siblings to RWS over the weekend. "I
love the clowns and the belly dancers are very pretty. But some of the shops
are not open yet, so I think we want to go to the beach soon."
From the amazing architecture to the roaming street entertainers, an
atmosphere of fun and fantasy for the family fill the air in the resort, which is
Singapore’s newest attraction located in Sentosa island off its southern coast.
But the directional signage in the resort, shaped in the playful motif of
flowers and butterflies, betrays its economics-driven reality. At the top of the
signage, like its crowning glory, a flower in full bloom points the way to the
casino -- hardly the most family-oriented facility.
Squirrelled away into the basement level of RWS, the casino functions
unobtrusively, away from prying eyes.
The unceasing chirp of voices suggests that the majority of the crowd are
foreigners. With locals and Singapore permanent residents required to pay a
hefty 100 Singapore dollar (71 U.S. dollar) gambling levy per entry – or a
discounted rate of 2,000 Singapore dollars (1,430 U.S. dollars) for 12 months
– this comes as little surprise.
"I’m just here to check it out for myself and take some pictures, see what
the hype is about. I’m not going to go into the casino though, not when I’m
going to ‘lose’ 100 dollars before even placing any bets!" quips Jeremy Teo,
35.
He agrees, however, with the government’s decision to charge a gambling
levy, which he feels will "prevent many Singaporeans from losing their heads
and all their money at the casino tables".
For visitors from neighbouring Johor Bahru in Malaysia, the newly opened
attraction is free, and just over an hour's drive away. The other casino in the
region, in Malaysia’s Genting Highlands, is some four hours away.
"I came with some friends to have a look since we are free this weekend,"
said Lee Teck Wah, a 47-year-old Malaysian, who is visiting the casino here
for the first time. "I have been to the Genting casino many times, and thought
'why not come try our luck here?' It's been so long since I have come to
Singapore anyway."
Built at a cost of 6.59 billion Singapore dollars (4.71 billion U.S. dollars),
RWS is one of the world’s most extensive and expensive integrated resorts,
housing a host of grand facilities over 49 hectares of land.
These facilities include South-east Asia’s only Universal Studios theme park,
six hotels, a 1,600-seat theatre, as well as the world’s largest Marine Life
Park oceanarium and a maritime museum. Supporting the attractions are a
3,500-lot car park facility, restaurants and retail stores.
In the first two days of its opening alone, the casino raked in some 40
million Singapore dollars (28.6 million U.S. dollars), with more than 35,000
visitors trying their hand at the tables. News reports say the casino is
expected to bring in revenues of 1.7 billion Singapore dollars ($1.2 billion
U.S. dollars) in its first year, an amount handy to have during a time of
recession.
A second casino in the republic, Marina Bay Sands, is expected to be
launched in April.
Tourism officials hope the casinos will help Singapore achieve its target of
17 million visitors a year, generating over 21 billion US dollars by 2015.
But from the inception of the idea for the first casino in 2004, it has met
with much resistance among concerned citizens. Several groups, including
the Muslim and Christian communities and social activists, expressed their
disapproval to the casinos – a move that is both peculiar and noteworthy in
apathetic Singapore society.
Despite public worries over the negative social impact of casino gambling
as well as opening of doors to undesirable activities including money
laundering, prostitution, and organised crime, Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong announced in April 2005: "After weighing the matter carefully, the
Cabinet has collectively concluded that we had no choice but to proceed with
the (Integrated Resorts) IRs. As Prime Minister, I carry the ultimate
responsibility for the decision."
As a social safeguard to combat excessive gambling, the gambling levy was
put in place, together with the setting up of the National Council on Problem
Gambling and measures such as ‘casino exclusion’, to stop problem gamblers
and those in financial difficulties from entering the casinos in Singapore.
Already, the crimes are rolling in along with the chips that the casino is
raking in.
A 53-year-old taxi driver, Loo Siew Wan, was charged late last month for
impersonation, theft, and giving false information to the police. Loo managed
to enter the RWS casino – in spite of an exclusion order – by stealing and
using his brother’s driving licence, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the
measures put in place by the authorities.
Loo was only caught after he allegedly tried to cheat a casino dealer on duty
at a baccarat table by placing a bet of two 100 Singapore dollar (71 U.S.
dollar) chips after the result of the game had been declared.
In another case, unemployed Indonesian man Paulus Djohar was jailed for
four weeks after pleading guilty to stealing a mobile phone from an
undergraduate at Changi Airport, after losing all of the 1,000 Singapore
dollars (710 U.S. dollars) he had with him at the casino.
"It is inevitable. When you want to open something like a casino, you are
really opening a can of worms," said Grace Lim, 27, an advertising executive.
"Hopefully, somehow, the money the casinos make and the shot in the arm
for the tourism industry will be more than enough to cover the social costs.
But how high a price can society afford to pay?"
On top of objections to the casino, local and international animal rights
groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Sea
Shepard Conservation Society, launched a campaign last year against the
importation of whale sharks, described as the largest living fish species, that
RWS plans to feature in its Marine Life Park oceanarium.
(END)
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