by MP for Aljunied GRC, Chen Show Mao
Mr Speaker, Sir, this is the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill. Casino. Control. Now that we have the casinos as part of integrated resorts, or IRs, and they have been in operation for two years, we should try to better control their effects on our lives, our economy and our society.
For example, this bill adds as a new factor for consideration in the grant or renewal of a casino licence an evaluation of the applicant’s economic contribution to Singapore. An evaluation panel will be set up to advise the CRA on matters such as “the visitor appeal of the integrated resort” and “the contribution of the integrated resort to the tourism industry in Singapore” in deciding whether to grant or renew a casino licence.
These are the expected benefits of the casinos — mostly economic. What about the costs — mostly social? Could they be evaluated and considered in a similar fashion when deciding whether to grant or renew casino licences? And could that be written expressly into our laws — through the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill, like the evaluation of economic benefits? Just as the bill is trying now to help incentivize the IRs to continue to deliver economic benefits for Singapore by making it an express consideration in the grant or renewal of casino licences, we should give the same pride of place to similarly incentivizing the IRs to continue to contain and minimize the social costs incurred by the operation of casinos in Singapore.
It is not easy to quantify the social costs of operating casinos. But researchers have tried. There are extant surveys of the number of problem gamblers and pathological gamblers and the number of other people in society affected by them. There are empirical studies that estimate the medical and social costs of gambling — which may include the costs of treatment, counseling of gambler and family and other social welfare services, the costs of loansharking and other crimes and the costs of lost employment and reduced productivity. These could all inform the evaluation by a panel or decision by the CRA on whether to grant or renew a casino licence.
Individual casino operators could be evaluated in a systematic way on how well they do in an audit of their responsible gambling programmes for consumer protection. If that evaluation is taken into account in the grant or renewal of a casino licence, it will provide enhanced incentives for the casino operators to commit to responsible gambling. Casino operators could also be evaluated on the basis of how their operations stack up against international best practices, such as the those benchmarked in the Responsible Gambling Index developed by Canada’s Responsible Gambling Council.
Sir, it is right that the casino operators shoulder their share of responsibilities to help ensure that the social costs of gambling are minimized, just as importantly as that economic benefits are delivered, and that this be reflected in our laws on the grant and renewal of casino licences.