Post by Blitz on Nov 19, 2024 7:04:28 GMT -5
Resorts World Sentosa casino license extended for just 2 years: ‘unsatisfactory’ performance and need for ‘substantial improvement’
Kelsey Wilhelm - November 19, 2024
agbrief.com/news/singapore/19/11/2024/resorts-world-sentosa-casino-license-extended-for-just-2-years-unsatisfactory-performance-and-need-for-substantial-improvement/
Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has renewed the casino license of Resorts World Sentosa for a shortened period of two years due to ‘unsatisfactory’ performance in meeting market demand and industry standards as a ‘compelling tourist destination’.
The GRA announced on Monday, noting that an evaluation of the group’s tourism performance between January 1st of 2021 and December 31st of 2023 found ‘a number of areas that require rectification and substantial improvement’.
The Evaluation Panel has now recommended that the next evaluation be conducted in 2026, while the new two-year extension begins on February 6th, 2025.
The GRA notes that it decided on the shortened period after taking into consideration the opinion of the Evaluation Panel, and the views of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).
Looking ahead, the GRA notes that it will ‘continue to work with MTI, STB, and SDC, to ensure that RWS meets the requirement to develop, maintain and promote its IR as a compelling tourist destination’.
Singapore has been working to further strengthen its casino controls and enhance its regulatory regime, while also taking a hard line on money laundering.
Resorts World Sentosa was caught in the regulatory web in December of 2023, being fined SG$2.25 million ($1.68 million) for failure to perform customer due diligence checks required by law. However, the fine was a result of a review mandated in 2020 of Singapore’s two casino operators. During the review and subsequent investigation by the GRA, it was found that RWS didn’t perform customer due diligence checks ‘for certain transactions where RWS’ employees collected cash of SG$5,000 ($3,700) or more from third parties for purposes of depositing into the accounts of RWS’ patrons’.
The period in question doesn’t directly correspond with the evaluation which resulted in the shortened casino license extension, and the GRA when issuing the fine noted that ‘RWS took prompt action to improve its processes’.
Resorts World Sentosa $5B revamp set to open in 2030
The move by the GRA also comes after Resorts World Sentosa announced its SG$6.8 billion ($5 billion) waterfront expansion, set to open by 2030.
This includes two new luxury hotels, adding 700 rooms, a waterfront promenade, a four-story retail, entertainment, and dining podium and a mountain trail.
Kelsey Wilhelm - November 19, 2024
agbrief.com/news/singapore/19/11/2024/resorts-world-sentosa-casino-license-extended-for-just-2-years-unsatisfactory-performance-and-need-for-substantial-improvement/
Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has renewed the casino license of Resorts World Sentosa for a shortened period of two years due to ‘unsatisfactory’ performance in meeting market demand and industry standards as a ‘compelling tourist destination’.
The GRA announced on Monday, noting that an evaluation of the group’s tourism performance between January 1st of 2021 and December 31st of 2023 found ‘a number of areas that require rectification and substantial improvement’.
The Evaluation Panel has now recommended that the next evaluation be conducted in 2026, while the new two-year extension begins on February 6th, 2025.
The GRA notes that it decided on the shortened period after taking into consideration the opinion of the Evaluation Panel, and the views of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).
Looking ahead, the GRA notes that it will ‘continue to work with MTI, STB, and SDC, to ensure that RWS meets the requirement to develop, maintain and promote its IR as a compelling tourist destination’.
Singapore has been working to further strengthen its casino controls and enhance its regulatory regime, while also taking a hard line on money laundering.
Resorts World Sentosa was caught in the regulatory web in December of 2023, being fined SG$2.25 million ($1.68 million) for failure to perform customer due diligence checks required by law. However, the fine was a result of a review mandated in 2020 of Singapore’s two casino operators. During the review and subsequent investigation by the GRA, it was found that RWS didn’t perform customer due diligence checks ‘for certain transactions where RWS’ employees collected cash of SG$5,000 ($3,700) or more from third parties for purposes of depositing into the accounts of RWS’ patrons’.
The period in question doesn’t directly correspond with the evaluation which resulted in the shortened casino license extension, and the GRA when issuing the fine noted that ‘RWS took prompt action to improve its processes’.
Resorts World Sentosa $5B revamp set to open in 2030
The move by the GRA also comes after Resorts World Sentosa announced its SG$6.8 billion ($5 billion) waterfront expansion, set to open by 2030.
This includes two new luxury hotels, adding 700 rooms, a waterfront promenade, a four-story retail, entertainment, and dining podium and a mountain trail.
