Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAN 2023年1月 亞博匯 30 Particularly encouraging for both operators is the fact that their strong 3Q22 numbers were achieved despite passenger numbers at Singapore’s Changi Airport reaching just 58.1% of pre-COVID levels in the quarter (around 10 million). That number keeps creeping upwards, reaching 62.6% on 3.42 million passenger movements in September (with another 3.69 million passenger movements in October), however full recovery will be dependent on the return of Chinese visitors. China was Singapore’s top source tourist market in 2019 with its 3.63 million visitors comprising 19% of all visitation. In regard to locals gaming, the Singapore Tote Board released figures in early December showing record gaming spend by Singaporeans in the financial year ended 31 March 2022, particularly on lotteries and sports betting where spend of SG$9.2 billion (US$6.8 billion) was 14% above the previous high of SG$8.1 billion (US$6.0 billion) in FY19. Included in the Tote Board’s figures was a historical record of casino-entry levies that locals must pay to be able to access the MBS and RWS casino floors. The records show that, in the first year of operations for Singapore’s casinos in 2011/12, entry levy collections reached SG$193 million (US$143 million) but had fallen every single year since – until FY22 when they rebounded to SG$125 million (US$92 million), up from SG$114 million (US$84 million) a year earlier. It was also higher than the SG$124 million collected in FY19 – despite FY22 being heavily impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and related periods of casino closures. Clearly demand is surging across the board. BIGGER IS BETTER Setting the COVID years aside, the fact that casino levy collections in FY22 exceeded those of FY19 defied the 50% increase in the levy amount charged to locals since April 2019, when the cost of a 24-hour pass rose from SG$100 to SG$150 and that of an annual pass from SG$2,000 to SG$3,000, part of the government’s efforts to “deter” locals from casino gambling. COVER STORY