SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has revealed an oversight that led to the collection of S$4.4 million more in entry levies by two Singapore casinos between April 4 and May 7, 2024.
This issue arose because a law that had raised the entry fees expired without being renewed, as reported by The Straits Times.
Before April 4, 2019, Singapore citizens and permanent residents must pay S$100 daily or S$2,000 annually to enter the casinos. The Casino Control (Variation of Entry Levies) Order 2019 increased these fees to S$150 daily and S$3,000 annually.
This Order was valid for five years and expired on April 3, 2024.
As MHA overlooked renewing the Order on time, casinos continued charging higher rates after the expiry date. The mistake was discovered following an email from the public in April, leading to the MHA’s announcement on Aug 6.
The ministry had intended to keep the higher levies beyond five years to discourage casual and impulsive gambling but overlooked the renewal of the Order.
To address this, MHA introduced a new Order on May 8 to restore the higher entry fees. The Casino Control (Amendment) Bill also seeks to include the higher levies in the main casino law, the Casino Control Act.
It also aims to make the higher entry levies collected during the one-month lapse officially valid. The amendment includes a provision that bars any legal actions regarding these sums on or after Aug 6, 2024.
When asked where the extra levies would go, MHA said all entry levies collected by casino operators would go to the Tote Board. The Casino Control Act requires these funds to be used for public, social, or charitable purposes in Singapore.
The ministry also said it does not plan to refund the additional levies collected, as its goal was always to maintain the higher rates unless changes were needed.
Eugene Tan, a law professor at Singapore Management University, remarked that such lapses are rare. He explained that validating the extra levies was necessary because, without this validation, casinos would have to refund the additional amounts to each patron.
He noted that retroactive laws can be enacted as long as they do not infringe on anyone’s rights.
“It was a procedural lapse, not a case of the authorities blatantly acting without authorisation. The clear legislative and policy intent since 2019 was for higher entry levies to apply,” he said.
MHA also noted that only about 3 per cent of Singapore’s adult population visited casinos in 2023. The rates of problem and pathological gambling among residents have remained low and steady at around 1 per cent.
“There are no plans to increase the entry levy for now. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of our social safeguards and make changes when necessary,” MHA added. /TISG
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