Friday 19 April 2013
Singapore Renews Marina Bay Sands Casino License
By Chun Han Wong
SINGAPORE–Singapore’s casino regulator said Friday that it has renewed the casino license for Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s
( LVS ) Marina Bay Sands resort in the city-state.
The renewal is for three years with effect from April 26 and follows an assessment by the authority that the casino
conforms with its rules, the Casino Regulatory Authority said in a statement.
The CRA said it considered MBS’s compliance record among other factors and has imposed additional requirements on the
casino resort for the duration of the new license. It didn’t elaborate on those requirements.
The renewal also comes as Las Vegas Sands faces two lawsuits that seek cuts of the hefty profits the U.S. casino
company has earned in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. In each suit, the plaintiff claims that Sands reneged on
agreements it made while seeking a Macau casino license in 2001.
The Singapore regulator said it is “aware of the investigations by U.S. authorities into the allegations and have kept
in contact with our U.S. counterparts to closely monitor these matters.” The CRA has reminded MBS “that it is an ongoing
requirement for its associates to remain suitable.”
MBS, one of Singapore’s two casinos that opened in early 2010, has been fined on several occasions by the regulator
for breaking the city-state’s tough casino laws. The violations included failures to enforce strict entry conditions
imposed upon Singaporean citizens and permanent residents.
Singapore law requires citizens and permanent residents to pay an entry fee of 100 Singapore dollars(US$80) to visit
the casinos.
Singaporean authorities also bar minors, bankrupts and criminals from entering casinos and allow individuals to
voluntarily apply for exclusion. Problem gamblers can also be banned from casinos upon request from their family
members.
Write to Chun Han Wong at chunhan.wong@dowjones.com
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Singapore Renews Marina Bay Sands Casino License
In Singapore, the Startup Scene Quietly Grows - Tech Cocktail
Apr 18, 2013 Tweet
Right now, Singapore startup accelerator JFDI is capping off day 57 of its 100-day program. Of the startups who applied from as far away as the United States, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan, nine were chosen – and that bodes well for them, as over 60 percent of startups from JFDI’s inaugural, 2012 class raised funding.
Even though JFDI puts a strong emphasis on creating solutions “for Asia,” the program already has international appeal. And considering its location, it’s easy to see why. Singapore ranks #2 on the Index of Economic Freedom and has several entrepreneurship visa options. Startup Weekend has landed there, as has the DEMO conference. Local media outlets like SGE and Tech in Asia host events and monitor activity.
According to Hugh Mason, CEO of JFDI, the lean startup movement has also hit Singapore. Ash Maurya’s book Running Lean came out last March, and Singaporean entrepreneurs are learning to test, fail, and iterate.
“Asians are quite good at reading books and putting them into practice,” says Mason.
Singapore also had a presence at this year’s SXSW, with government agency IDA bringing nine startups. This was IDA’s third year with a booth at the SXSW trade show, where they aim to promote Singapore as a startup and investment destination.
“Those who were savvy about the tech landscape in Singapore were keen to learn how to leverage Singapore’s strategic location to expand their own companies into Southeast Asia,” says US centre director Victor Tan.
Dave McClure and 500 Startups are also keen to learn about Singapore. Geeks on a Plane, their band of traveling startup brothers (and sisters), is headed to Singapore in June to check out the action.
But one of Singapore’s challenges, as I describe in my Asian startup report, is dealing with fear of failure. Though 7 out of 11 JFDI startups have raised funding, Mason has already gotten flack from those focusing on the failed 4.
“This self-flagellating, negative, critical aspect of Confucian culture . . . is poison to creativity and innovation, and I don’t know how quickly that stuff changes,” he says.
But Mason is optimistic. He compares Singapore’s startup scene to a soccer club from his hometown of the United Kingdom – a core group of hustlers supported by tons of wannabe, supporting fans. Those fans just need a bit more courage to jump into the startup game.
In Singapore, the Startup Scene Quietly Grows - Tech Cocktail