A year after Richard Magnus the former chairman of the Singapore Casino Regulatory Authority, retired, the agency he headed from its inception and for seven years after that continues to run like clockwork, overseeing two of the world’s most profitable casinos, the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts Sentosa.
In a profile by the Straits Times, Magnus commented, “One of the things we insisted on was probity checks on the individuals and companies involved in the running of the casinos in Singapore.”
A former senior district judge, Magnus noted that it is imperative to delve deeply into the lives of those who “makes the decisions, exercises influence and manages the operations of the casinos here. It ensures that there are no untoward influences on the industry. The industry generally involves significant flows of money, including across borders when there are foreign patrons. We have arrangements with other jurisdictions to get the information that we need.”
His agency also closely watches the industry to see which operators might be overextended in other jurisdictions.
Lee Tzu Yang, the board’s deputy chairman, replaced Magnus, who retired to bring “someone fresh who will have a new perspective.” Magnus is now chairman of the Public Transport Council.
He noted that any regulator of the casino industry must keep constant tabs on the increasingly complex, highly technological and global nature of the industry.
“We need fresh eyes to look at that, and to ensure we have a regulatory framework that continues to work well for us,” he told the Times.
He noted proudly that the two Singaporean casinos, “continue to do well in a challenging business environment. Having a diversified patron market from the region, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and China, has helped them.”
The two casinos contribute as much as 2 percent to the city-state’s gross domestic product and support more than 40,000 jobs. There is no connection to organized crime and the crimes that do happen are generally theft of chips or cheating.
“We had prepared to deal with the criminal activities that potentially could increase with the casinos, and the police set up the Casino Crime Investigation Branch to deal with casino-related crime,” said Magnus with satisfaction.
The city’s casino differ from the high-end casinos favored by Macau, something that has worked to the city’s benefit as China’s crackdown on high officials’ gambling has caused a tremendous slump in the country’s gaming.
“For Singapore, the casinos are part of integrated resorts and are economic drivers, contributing to the economy, employment and the growth and development of tourism. This model is different from the Macau model and the Las Vegas laissez faire model,” observed Magnus.
