Integrated resorts in Singapore

Singapore led the development of integrated resorts internationally. In 1923, gambling was briefly legalized in the then-British colony of Singapore, but the experiment led to gambling addiction and increased crime, and gambling was criminalised again within three years.^[1]

In the following decades, the operation of legal gambling in Singapore was limited to the government-run Singapore Pools for lotteries, and Singapore Turf Club for horse racing. However, during a parliament session on 18 April 2005, Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, announced the cabinet's decision to develop two casinos and associated hotels and malls in Marina South and Sentosa.^[2]

The government stated that the aim of the project was to boost Singapore's tourism industry^[3] which had been facing intense competition from other destinations around the region, particularly from nearby Bangkok, Hong Kong and Macau, which has since also considered legalisation of casinos in the wake of initiatives in Singapore. Even closer to home, Malaysia has long had a legal casino cum theme park on Genting Highlands, which proved popular with Singaporean tourists. The IRs in Singapore were expected to create about 35,000 jobs directly and indirectly. In addition to the casinos, the IRs will have other amenities including hotels, restaurants, shopping and convention centers, theatres, museums and theme parks. The industry was expected to invest US$7.1 billion in integrated resorts (US$3.5 billion in Marina Bay; US$3.6 billion in Resorts World)^{[citation needed]}.

^ "Asia Sentinel - Independent news and analysis about Asia's politics, economics, culture and more". Asia Sentinel. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
^ Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (18 April 2005). "Proposal to develop Integrated Resorts" (PDF). Developing Industries > Integrated Resorts > Ministerial Speeches & Comments. Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-17. The first question was whether to have IRs at all. The answer was yes. Having settled that, the next question was whether to have one or two IRs. We decided on two IRs, because the Bayfront and Sentosa projects complement each other, because having two provides competition and critical mass, and because we believe that two projects will bring more economic benefits, without increasing the social cost commensurately; After weighing the matter carefully, the Cabinet has collectively concluded that we had no choice but to proceed with the IRs. As Prime Minister, I carry the ultimate responsibility for the decision.
^ "Why Singapore embraced integrated resorts". Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.

[sentinel-1] "Asia Sentinel - Independent news and analysis about Asia's politics, economics, culture and more". Asia Sentinel. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.

[Proposal_to_develop_Integrated_Resorts-2] Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (18 April 2005). "Proposal to develop Integrated Resorts" (PDF). Developing Industries > Integrated Resorts > Ministerial Speeches & Comments. Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-17. The first question was whether to have IRs at all. The answer was yes. Having settled that, the next question was whether to have one or two IRs. We decided on two IRs, because the Bayfront and Sentosa projects complement each other, because having two provides competition and critical mass, and because we believe that two projects will bring more economic benefits, without increasing the social cost commensurately; After weighing the matter carefully, the Cabinet has collectively concluded that we had no choice but to proceed with the IRs. As Prime Minister, I carry the ultimate responsibility for the decision.

[3] "Why Singapore embraced integrated resorts". Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.

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