Singapore Casino Entry Levy

Singapore runs one of the most unusual casino entry systems in Asia. When the two integrated resorts opened in 2010, the government decided that locals should face a deliberate cost to gamble while tourists should not, so every Singapore citizen and permanent resident pays a daily or annual fee at the door while visitors walk straight in. This page explains what the levy costs, how it works, how it changed over the years, and what happens if you get it wrong.

What the casino entry levy is and who pays it

The entry levy is a payment that every Singapore citizen and permanent resident must make before entering the gaming floors at Marina Bay Sands or Resorts World Sentosa, the only two licensed casinos in the country¹. The casino operator is legally barred from letting any citizen or permanent resident through the doors unless the levy has been paid, so staff check status at the entrance before you reach the tables².

The idea behind the levy is social rather than commercial. It exists to make locals pause before gambling, and the money does not go to the casinos at all: every levy collected must be paid to the Singapore Totalisator Board and used for public, social or charitable purposes⁵.

A few groups are exempt because they are on the premises for work or duty rather than play. The levy does not apply to casino employees, inspectors, police officers, officers of the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, civil defense officers, Inland Revenue Authority officers, gambling authority staff acting in the course of their duties, and other prescribed persons⁶.

The levy applies at both casinos, and the same rules run at each. If you are a citizen or permanent resident, you pay at whichever resort you visit, and a levy bought from one operator covers that operator's casino only, not both⁷. Everyone entering, local or foreign, must be at least 21 years old⁴.

Payment is flexible. You can settle the levy in cash, by cashier's order or money order, by debit or credit card accepted by the operator, by electronic funds transfer to the operator's bank account, or by e-money transfer to the operator's payment account⁸. At Marina Bay Sands, Singaporeans and permanent residents have been able to buy their levies with cash, NETS or credit cards since the resort opened, and online purchase is also available⁹.

Entry levy: S$150 a day or S$3,000 a year

There are two levy options, and you pick one at the time of purchase.

The daily levy is the casual option: you pay S$150 and get a 24-hour window at that operator's casino, starting from your first entry or six hours after payment, whichever comes first³. The annual levy works like a membership. You pay S$3,000 once and can come and go for a full year, though the same six-hour activation rule applies to the start date³.

Which one makes sense depends entirely on how often you go. The annual levy costs the same as 20 daily passes, so a resident who expects to visit more than about 20 times a year pays less overall with the annual option, and also skips the queue at the levy counter on every visit.

Two things to know before you buy. First, the levy is a payment for entry, not a credit or a deposit: it does not go toward any bets, food or drinks inside. Second, it is non-transferable and non-refundable under any circumstances, including if the casino closes, if you are evicted, or if a visit restriction or exclusion order blocks you from entering at all¹. The Gambling Regulatory Authority's guidance is blunt on this point: there is no refund for a patron who bought a levy but could not use it, no refund for someone under an exclusion order or visit limit, and no refund processed on behalf of a deceased purchaser¹.

How the levy increased from S$100 to S$150

The levy has not always cost S$150. When the casinos opened in 2010, the daily levy was S$100 and the annual levy was S$2,000¹⁰. Those were the rates written into the Casino Control Act from the start¹¹.

In April 2019 the government raised both by 50 percent. The new rates, S$150 daily and S$3,000 annual, took effect after 11:59 pm on April 3, 2019, meaning anyone buying a levy from April 4 onwards paid the higher figures¹³. Ministers framed the increase alongside other measures to minimize problem gambling among locals¹⁵.

For several years after 2019 the higher rates existed in practice but not fully in the statute, because of an administrative oversight. In 2024 the government formally regularized the figures through a Casino Control (Amendment) Act, replacing "$100" with "$150" and "$2,000" with "$3,000" in the Act's levy section, confirming the current prices are here to stay¹². The same amendment restated that the Minister may vary the levy amounts by order in the Gazette, so the numbers can change again by administrative order rather than a full rewrite of the law¹².

When the levy starts and expires: activation and validity rules

The timing rules trip up more first-time visitors than the price does, so it is worth reading this section before you buy.

When the clock starts. A levy does not start running the moment you pay for it. The validity period begins at whichever comes first: your first entry to the casino after payment, or six hours after the time of payment⁸. So if you buy a daily levy at 2 pm and walk in at 5 pm, your 24 hours run from 5 pm. If you buy at 2 pm and never show up, the levy activates anyway at 8 pm and burns itself out³.

How long each levy lasts. The daily levy gives you 24 consecutive hours from the effective time, and the annual levy gives you 12 consecutive months, expiring at 11:59:59 pm on the day before the date 12 months after the effective date³.

Buying ahead. The pre-payment window is six hours. Since August 2019, both daily and annual levies auto-activate six hours after purchase even if you have not entered the casino by then, so there is no point buying far in advance¹³. The 30-day expiry for unused daily levies and the 90-day activation for annual levies were the earlier rules¹⁶.

Renewing. The earliest you can buy a second levy is six hours before your current one expires. This applies to the daily levy and to the annual pass: a resident on the S$3,000 annual fee can only buy the next 12-month pass six hours before the current one runs out¹⁶.

Overstaying. If your 24 hours end while you are still inside, you cannot simply keep playing. A person enters and remains on casino premises only by the license of the operator, and a citizen or permanent resident whose paid levy period has expired must pay for the next period or leave². Staying without paying is an offense, covered in the next section.

Fines for entering without paying the levy

The penalties for dodging the levy are set out in the Casino Control Act, and they apply to citizens and permanent residents only, since foreigners do not need a levy at all.

If you enter casino premises without paying the entry levy, you are liable on conviction to a fine of up to S$1,500, and you must also pay the amount of the daily levy itself². Attempting to enter without paying carries a fine of up to S$1,500 as well².

Overstaying is treated the same way. A citizen or permanent resident who remains on casino premises after the paid levy period expires, without paying for the over-stay period, faces a fine of up to S$1,500 plus the levy amount for that over-stay period².

In short: the worst case is a S$1,500 fine plus the S$150 you owed anyway, so skipping the levy saves nothing and costs plenty. The practical fix is simple, since the levy can be bought at the counter or online before you go⁹.

One related note on age: a person below 21 is a minor under the Act, and a minor who uses false evidence of age to obtain entry to or remain on casino premises commits an offense carrying a fine of up to S$1,000⁵. The minimum age of 21 applies to everyone, local and foreign alike⁴.

Foreign visitors: free entry with a passport

If you are visiting Singapore on a foreign passport, none of the above applies to you. Foreigners enter the casinos free of charge upon presenting their original physical passport³. International visitors simply show their passport at the door and walk in, with no levy, no membership and no fee¹⁷.

A few practical points for visitors:

• Bring the original physical passport. A photo or copy will not do; the check at the door is for the real document³.
• The levy rules do not apply to foreign passport holders at all, at either resort¹⁸.
• The 21-year minimum age still applies to you, and minors are prohibited from entering or remaining in the casino³.
• The casinos are open 24/7, so there is no timing constraint beyond the resort's own entry queues¹⁸.

If you are a foreigner planning a wider range of betting while in Singapore, see our page on gambling in Singapore as a visitor, and for the resorts themselves, our pages on Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa cover the games, floors and getting there.

For citizens and permanent residents who feel their gambling is getting out of hand, the levy sits alongside other safeguards: family exclusion orders and visit limits apply at both casinos, and the National Council on Problem Gambling administers them⁷. Our page on casino exclusion and visit limits in Singapore explains how those work.