THE authorities continue to gear up for the opening of Singapore's first casino with the an inaugural training symposium which opened on Wednesday.

The symposium, set for two days, gathers various overseas casino experts here to share their experiences in casino regulation and enforcement. Some 200 participants are from the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and other Home Team agencies.

Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, in his opening address, said the integrated resorts (IR) pose a new challenge for Singapore.

'We are very good at the effective regulation of our financial sector. However, the casinos bring with them a whole variety of related problems and pose an operational paradigm challenge even for police officers who are generally used to dealing with people who are law abiding,' he said.

He noted that the CRA and CID are making good progress in the lead-up to the casinos' opening. For example, the CRA is putting in place its regulatory regime, which includes protocols to prevent money laundering.

Meanwhile, the police will be setting up a new Marina Bay neighbourhood police centre (NPC) to oversee the Marina Bay IR. The existing Bukit Merah West NPC will oversee the Sentosa IR.

Apart from the symposium, CRA officers have also attended conferences to learn from overseas regulators. CID officers have also participated in Project ACES, an Interpol crime project set up to combat casino-centric organised crime in Asia and the South Pacific.

'This vibrant industry is new to all of us and we have collectively much to learn within a short timeframe,' said Mr T Raja Kumar, the CRA's chief executive.