Inside Asian Gaming

January 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 7 Cover Story The world’s tallest pair of duelling rollercoasters, Battlestar Galactica, located in Universal Studios Singapore, will propel thrill-seekers on several inversions, a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, corkscrews, vertical loops and near collisions mere inches apart. S ingapore’s onerous casino entry fee for locals—a policy tool to limit the social ills of gambling—will confer a significant first- mover advantage on the first of the two integrated resorts (IRs) set to open in the city-state. Locals wishing to visit the casino at either Resorts World at Sentosa, operated by Genting Singapore Plc (a 54% subsidiary of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd), or Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Marina Bay Sands will need to stump up either S$100 (US$71) per day or S$2,000 (US$1,434) per year for the privilege at each property. Regulars would likely opt for the yearly fee, and retain their patronage for the year with the casino that gets them through the door first. If that casino is able to build player loyalty within that year, the advantage derived from opening first could continue through to subsequent years. IRs in Singapore will have considerable flexibility in building player loyalty because they face significantly lower gaming tax rates than casinos in other neighbouring jurisdictions, allowing them to effectively reimburse the entry fee with comps and commissions. Tax Rates Faced by Regional Casinos Singapore Macau Malaysia Australia Philippines Mass Gaming Tax 15 39* 25 19-27.5 15 VIP/Junket Gaming Tax 5 39* 25 10-12 25 Corporate Tax 17 12 25 30 30 *incl. 3-4% mandatory social and welfare contributions Final Lap The race for first-mover advantage in Singapore is not quite over