Why Casino for SingaporeWhy Casino for SingaporeAt exactly 11.18pm on February 14, 2010, Singapore joined the ranks of other cities such as Macau and Las Vegas when Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) officially opened the nations first casino. Together with the Marina Bay Sands which set to open in the next few months, the openings of the so-called ‘integrated resorts are aimed at bolstering tourism to the city-state. Whether by coincidence or intent, this day was the first day of the Lunar Year of the Tiger, as well as being Valentines Day, making it a double red-letter day for both the country and Resorts World Sentosa.
Why Casino for SingaporeThe government claims the aim of the project is to boost Singapores tourism industry which has been facing intense competition from other destinations around the region, particularly from nearby Bangkok and Hong Kong, which has since also considered legalization of casinos in the wake of initiatives in Singapore. Even closer to home, Malaysia has long had a legal casino cum theme park on Genting Highlands, which proved popular with Singaporean tourists. The IRs in Singapore are expected to create about more jobs directly and indirectly. In addition to the casinos, the IRs will have other amenities including hotels, restaurants, shopping and convention centres theatres, museums and theme parks. The industry is expected to invest US$7.1 billion in integrated resorts (US$3.5 billion in Marina Bay; US$3.6 billion in Resorts World)
Ruchika Tulshyan (2010) in her article on “Why Singapore went into the casino industry” estimated that the two casino resorts are expected to boost tourism, generate 45,000 jobs and attract 10 million visitors by 2015. And with a 13% rise in Singapores 1st Quarter GDP this year, the gamble may already be paying off.
Why NO Casino for SingaporeSingapore has always outlawed gambling. Gambling was not tolerated due to the negative social effects it brought to society.The plan to build the casinos was subject to considerable debates among Singaporeans. Several groups, such as those belonging the Muslim and Christian communities as well as social workers, openly expressed their disapproval to the casinos. Concerns were raised about the negative social impact of casino gambling, citing worries that the casinos could encourage more gambling and increase the risk of compulsive gambling. Activist groups argued that a casino could also lead to undesirable activities often associated with gambling, including money
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1.1.0 Singapore to allow more gambling In early 1996, Singaporeans presented at a meeting of the SIT an initiative by the International Organization for the Prohibition of Gaming of the Americas, signed by the United Kingdom
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The SIT was not satisfied with the proposed initiative, and on 18 July 1996 the UK Government proposed the creation of several separate gambling centres in the city
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where gambling could be legalized by the Government. In June 1996 the Governor-General accepted that they should be operated in private hands from 6-7 May 1996. In December 1996 the government signed an agreement which increased the number of gambling centres in government-administered gambling areas, with the first gambling centre being built at the former Lachu Bay on November 2rd 1996. This was done, at the request of the government, primarily to increase traffic in the SIT and its staff. By 1997, three such centres were being built along with a further 200 in private houses. All three of them, which had been proposed on 20 August 1997, were eventually rejected by the government after extensive debate and the two-sided proposal to build the new centres was rejected by all three parties. The first centre operated along with a casino and was approved in 2001, which opened to competition on 18 June 2003. The second centre was a non-profit of the SIT. More than 20,000 people visited the centres operating at a cost ranging from Rs.3,400 to nearly Rs.100 crore. These centres are to be constructed in a manner to better facilitate the creation of independent and public gambling centers
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and to allow the establishment of independent and public casinos for independent and public gambling. The first casino was built under the existing structure, which was open to competition. More than 50 casino operators were active in the gambling industry for the next seven years, and the new casinos would have the option of opening themselves to competition only. The SIT has also undertaken to establish an official gambling centre in each of the gambling areas under government control under the auspices of The Casino Committee to be opened in February 1998. The new casino would then have a second casino operating for 3-6 months, where the number of people playing games was much higher or only available up to 10 months after opening. The third casinos will be operated under the guidance of the Casino Committee. The first casino to be opened under its current form was a casino operated by a privately held company called the National State Casino Corporation (NSC), which was formed in 1992. The casino, which opened in 1993, operates as a privately held casino by providing public entertainment and gaming venues in every city and town of Singapore under the supervision of a non-governmental international political body based in Vienna, Austria. The NTCC has had