Public feedback points casino regulator to breaches

A man tipped off the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) when his mother was offered freebies by Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to renew her annual entry levy. Singaporeans and permanent residents are levied a daily $100 charge for entering casinos here, or they can pay an annual fee of $2,000.

That tip-off, plus another from another person, eventually led to RWS being fined $600,000 in September for partially reimbursing the entry levy of thousands of patrons between February and May last year.

Relating that case, the head of the CRA, Mr Lau Peet Meng, highlighted to The Straits Times the important role the public can play in reporting questionable practices to help the authorities ensure casinos toe the line regarding rules.

The RWS case involved about 3,400 patrons who had their annual levies partially reimbursed. Mr Lau said the man had written to the CRA in May about how his mother had been promised Universal Studios Singapore tickets if she renewed the annual levy. As CRA officers were looking into the matter, a casino patron also made a similar report.