Extending credit to high rollers may be easy for Singapore’s casinos, but recovering those debts is proving to be a persistent challenge. The number of VIP players failing to repay what they owe has risen sharply, creating growing concern for casino operators.
According to Bloomberg, only two debt recovery lawsuits were filed in 2013, but that figure surged to 49 just a year later. Many of these high-stakes gamblers use junket operators—intermediaries who bring in wealthy players and guarantee casino revenue. However, Singapore has just three licensed junket operators compared to Macau’s roughly 200, limiting the support network for managing such clients.
When gamblers in Singapore default, the responsibility of collecting often falls on the country’s two integrated resorts—Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
Legal and Public Relations Obstacles
Efforts to recover debts are complicated by China’s legal restrictions. Singapore lacks a reciprocal judgment enforcement agreement with China (except for Hong Kong), forcing casinos to pursue lengthy legal actions across jurisdictions.
Casinos also tread carefully to avoid negative publicity. Both Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa have seen revenue declines in recent years and are wary of alienating their wealthiest patrons, especially amid rising competition from Macau’s 40-plus casinos and China’s crackdown on cross-border gambling.
High-Profile Debt Cases
Despite these challenges, both casinos have taken legal action against notable debtors. In 2012, Resorts World Sentosa sued gambler Kuok Sio Kun for $1.8 million, and in 2015, Marina Bay Sands pursued Chen Huaide, chairman of China’s For You Group, for $2.8 million.
In another case, Marina Bay Sands disclosed that Xiao Wenge, former DMG Entertainment chairman, owed $12 million. More recently, Olympic gold medalist Kong Linghui was sued by Marina Bay Sands over an alleged $327,480 debt—a matter he later described as a misunderstanding while pledging to resolve it with the casino.
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