Managing the Sin in Singapore's Casinos

Abstract

Since Singapore’s early years of independence, the controversial proposal to boost economic growth by allowing casinos here had been repeatedly mooted. The idea had in turn been repeatedly rejected by decision makers who maintained that the social fallout from casinos would outweigh any economic benefits. In 2004 however, things took a different turn, when Singapore’s Prime Minister displayed an new openness to having casinos on local shores and called for a study on this proposal. This decision sparked off an unusually energetic public response, and generated much media coverage locally and internationally. The first half of this case examines the debate for and against the legalisation of casino gambling in Singapore, while the second half explores the decision taken, the impacts of the decision, and concludes with two simple questions for discussion: “Was the right decision taken?” and “What more should be done to curb the social costs of casino gambling?”