SINGAPORE: Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) has announced that it will shutter the doors of its once-lucrative jackpot room at the end of June, a casualty of a significant decline in the revenue collected from its fruit machines between 2010 and 2023.
The announcement by SRC on June 6 cited the decision to shut down the jackpot room from June 24 onwards, which was also driven by a combination of factors.
These include a drop in members’ visits to the jackpot room and regulatory changes announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
SRC disclosed a staggering revenue freefall from its fruit machines, plummeting from a lofty S$14 million in 2010 to a mere S$3 million in 2023. This translates to a decline in net profits from S$2.3 million to just S$0.09 million over the same period.
Furthermore, the club revealed the number of members frequenting the jackpot room plummeted a staggering 50% from a pre-pandemic high of 532 in 2019 to 265 in 2023.
The decline in activity at the club’s fruit machine can be attributed, in part, to the MHA regulatory changes in 2017, which ushered in a raft of stricter measures to the fruit machines industry.
There were more stringent permit criteria for fruit machines, reduced availability and accessibility to fruit machines, and stronger social safeguards to protect individuals from the potential harm of fruit machines.
According to the MHA, this was done with the “intention of ensuring fruit machines are only an ancillary part of a club’s broader suite of recreational and social offerings.”
“Regulatory changes in the gaming industry, coupled with a significant reduction in revenue, have prompted us to reduce the number of machines in the jackpot room from 30 to 20,” read the statement by SRC.
The club added that the cumulative effect of these factors has ‘significantly compromised the financial sustainability’ of upholding the jackpot room’s overall vitality.
Although SRC members will soon no longer enjoy their day playing the fruit machine with the closure of the jackpot room, they can look forward to a new entertainment facility.
The club will start work on expanding Oasis@Padang, which includes a newer entertainment facility that promises to breathe new life into one of Singapore’s oldest social clubs, founded in 1883.
The brand-new entertainment facility, situated in basement two, promises to be a vibrant hub of recreation and socialisation, divided into three distinct rooms.
The billiards room, spanning 240 sqm, accommodates three sets of tables, while the 107 sqm table tennis room offers two sets of tables. Additionally, there is a dedicated 97 sqm mahjong and cards room equipped with seven tables.
This new entertainment facility at the club is part of a major facelift that was approved during its extraordinary general meeting, which was held from March 24 to 26 earlier this year.
1,451 members attended the EOGM, and 817 members voted in favour of the proposed addition and alteration to the clubhouse.
In total, SRC is projected to spend S$16,620,231 on renovation, which includes upgrading its restaurant, adding new F&B outlets (Baker Longue, Le Mansion, Brunch Cafe), and creating a new co-working space.
To fund the works, club members holding a ‘transferable membership’ will have to pay a special levy of S$3,000.
SRC offers an incentive to members who pay the full S$3,000 fee upfront by rewarding S$1,650 worth of F&B credits, redeemable at the club’s facilities.
For members who pay S$250 monthly for a year, the F&B credits will only be released once the total S$3,000 has been paid.
The club is also refurbishing its ballroom, gyms, poolside cafe, bowling lane, and swimming pool and adding an outdoor platform, ‘The Panorama,’ for its members to enjoy a better view of Padang and Singapore’s skyline.
The first phase of the club’s expansion, Oasis@Padang, is targeted for completion before this year’s Formula One, which is scheduled for the end of September.
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