Genting Singapore Fined for Flouting Casino Laws

Massachusetts invited Genting into the Commonwealth with no scrutiny, no background check, no oversight.

Genting, a Malaysian company will simply ship Gambling $$$ overseas.

Governor Slot Barns Patrick supported, endorsed, prodded for this legislation.

UPDATE: Genting Singapore Fined for Flouting Casino Laws
12/09/2012

--Genting Singapore's casino resort fined $490,000

--Some of its employees face separate criminal charges

--Fine is highest single financial penalty Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority has issued to date


(Updates to rewrite first paragraph and provide additional details and background throughout.)


By Chun Han Wong and Sam Holmes

SINGAPORE--Genting Singapore PLC's (GIGNY, G13.SG) casino resort has been fined 600,000 Singapore dollars ($490,000) for flouting the city-state's tough casino laws, while some of the casino operator's employees face separate criminal charges for allegedly providing false information to authorities.

In a Wednesday statement, Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority said the fine--the highest single financial penalty it has issued to date--was imposed on Resorts World Sentosa for partially reimbursing casino-entry levies paid by some local visitors.

The regulator said its investigations showed that RWS--Genting Singapore's flagship property--had in the period between Feb. 1 and May 31 offered incentives to local patrons who purchased new annual entry passes or renewed existing ones. These perks included free tickets to the resort's Universal Studios theme park, free accommodations and concert tickets.

Under Singapore law, citizens and permanent residents must pay entry levies for access to either of the city-state's two casinos--a 24-hour casino-entry pass costs SGD100 while an annual pass costs SGD2,000. Casino operators are prohibited from either directly or indirectly refunding or reimbursing the entry levy.

"About 3,400 local casino patrons were partially reimbursed the cost of the annual entry levy through these means," the regulator said. "Although the marketing program was implemented by a handful of RWS' staff members, CRA holds RWS responsible for its employees' actions."

Separately, the CRA said it has referred several RWS employees to the police for criminal investigation after discovering that "certain documents submitted by RWS staff members to CRA could have been forged, and that false or misleading information could have been provided to CRA."

According to the local broadcaster Channel NewsAsia, the police's Commercial Affairs Department said Thursday it would prosecute three RWS employees for alleged offenses including forgery and providing false information to the CRA.

The CRA is also investigating whether some RWS employees have breached Singapore's casino-control laws.

In a statement, RWS acknowledged breaches in its compliance with casino laws, and said it has taken steps to enhance its compliance procedures after conducting an internal inquiry into the matter.

RWS, the subject of several regulatory probes in the past, has paid a total of SGD$1.4 million in fines--including Wednesday's penalties--since operations began in February 2010. Meanwhile, rival casino Marina Bay Sands, operated by the U.S. gambling group Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), has been fined a total of SGD612,500 since its opening in April 2010.

Wednesday's announcement comes after recent management changes at Genting Singapore aimed at shoring up its regulatory compliance.

In July, RWS hired ex-Las Vegas Sands executive Robin Thompson--who was executive director for compliance at MBS--to become its vice president of compliance, according to a person familiar with the move.

http://www.euroinvestor.com/news/2012/09/12/update-genting-singapore-fined-for-flouting-casino-laws/12088336