Nov 4, 2010, Straits Times
MBS casino levy can be paid at AXS machines
Critics say this makes it too easy for gamblers
By Ng Kai Ling
The levy can be paid either by credit card or Nets. There are more than 650 self-service AXS terminals here. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
ASIDE from paying bills or fines, people can use AXS machines all over the island to pay the levy for entry into the casino at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
Soon, they can also pay the levy using DBS automated teller machines.
While selling levies through AXS machines is allowed under the Casino Control Act, counsellors interviewed said this makes it too convenient for gamblers. There are more than 650 self-service AXS terminals and more than 900 DBS and POSB ATMs all over Singapore.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports told The Straits Times: 'We are studying the implications and a decision will be announced in due course.'
In September, MBS and Resorts World Sentosa were directed to stop offering shuttle bus services that ferry people to the resorts from the downtown and heartland areas.
At the time, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said that the move to stop the integrated resort (IR) bus services was 'to reinforce the point that they are not supposed to go after the low-hanging fruit which the local market represents, but instead to focus their efforts on bringing additional tourists from abroad'.
The AXS service was rolled out on May 11 without much fanfare. Since then, more than 250 daily and annual levies have been bought from the machines. They cost $100 and $2,000 respectively.
The option to buy the levy can be found under the services tab at any AXS machine. From there, all the user has to do is key in his NRIC number, select the type of levy and then pay either by credit card or Nets.
Only credit cards issued by DBS Bank, and Diners credit cards, are accepted but Nets payment can be done with an ATM card from any bank.
Asked what she thought of the service, Madam Halimah Yacob, a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, who had spoken out strongly against the shuttle bus services, said: 'I really don't understand what's going on. The whole premise of the casinos is to attract tourists, not about making it easier and more convenient for Singaporeans to gamble.'
Dr Derek da Cunha, author of Singapore Places Its Bets, a book about the two IRs and their economic and social impact, believes selling casino levies through AXS machines will only have a marginal effect in facilitating people to gamble.
To him, the bigger problem is one of perception. He said: 'Providing more options for paying the entry levy will merely fuel a public perception that the levy, as a revenue raising stream for the Government, is as important, if not more important than its underlying social objective of deterring Singaporeans and PRs from frequenting the casinos.'
One counsellor, who works with problem gamblers, says the service is literally at people's doorsteps.
Mr Dick Lum, executive director of halfway house The Hiding Place, said: 'MBS is working very hard to get customers by providing this service. It's dangerous because they are making it more accessible and convenient.'
Others said it could spell big trouble for problem gamblers.
Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, said: 'To an addict, no matter how difficult it is to get a levy, they would still gamble. This service just makes it much more accessible.'
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MBS casino levy can be paid at AXS machines
Critics say this makes it too easy for gamblers
By Ng Kai Ling
The levy can be paid either by credit card or Nets. There are more than 650 self-service AXS terminals here. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
ASIDE from paying bills or fines, people can use AXS machines all over the island to pay the levy for entry into the casino at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
Soon, they can also pay the levy using DBS automated teller machines.
While selling levies through AXS machines is allowed under the Casino Control Act, counsellors interviewed said this makes it too convenient for gamblers. There are more than 650 self-service AXS terminals and more than 900 DBS and POSB ATMs all over Singapore.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports told The Straits Times: 'We are studying the implications and a decision will be announced in due course.'
In September, MBS and Resorts World Sentosa were directed to stop offering shuttle bus services that ferry people to the resorts from the downtown and heartland areas.
At the time, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, said that the move to stop the integrated resort (IR) bus services was 'to reinforce the point that they are not supposed to go after the low-hanging fruit which the local market represents, but instead to focus their efforts on bringing additional tourists from abroad'.
The AXS service was rolled out on May 11 without much fanfare. Since then, more than 250 daily and annual levies have been bought from the machines. They cost $100 and $2,000 respectively.
The option to buy the levy can be found under the services tab at any AXS machine. From there, all the user has to do is key in his NRIC number, select the type of levy and then pay either by credit card or Nets.
Only credit cards issued by DBS Bank, and Diners credit cards, are accepted but Nets payment can be done with an ATM card from any bank.
Asked what she thought of the service, Madam Halimah Yacob, a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, who had spoken out strongly against the shuttle bus services, said: 'I really don't understand what's going on. The whole premise of the casinos is to attract tourists, not about making it easier and more convenient for Singaporeans to gamble.'
Dr Derek da Cunha, author of Singapore Places Its Bets, a book about the two IRs and their economic and social impact, believes selling casino levies through AXS machines will only have a marginal effect in facilitating people to gamble.
To him, the bigger problem is one of perception. He said: 'Providing more options for paying the entry levy will merely fuel a public perception that the levy, as a revenue raising stream for the Government, is as important, if not more important than its underlying social objective of deterring Singaporeans and PRs from frequenting the casinos.'
One counsellor, who works with problem gamblers, says the service is literally at people's doorsteps.
Mr Dick Lum, executive director of halfway house The Hiding Place, said: 'MBS is working very hard to get customers by providing this service. It's dangerous because they are making it more accessible and convenient.'
Others said it could spell big trouble for problem gamblers.
Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, said: 'To an addict, no matter how difficult it is to get a levy, they would still gamble. This service just makes it much more accessible.'
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