Resorts World Sentosa will “be prepared” when Singapore’s Playing Regulatory Authority considers its on line casino license renewal in 2026, the corporate’s CEO Lee Shi Ruh instructed CNBC late final month.
In November 2024, Singapore’s playing company introduced it was renewing the built-in resort’s on line casino license for 2 years, as a substitute of three, citing “unsatisfactory” tourism efficiency from 2021 to 2023.
The announcement got here after Resorts World Sentosa had pledged to take a position $6.8 billion Singapore {dollars} ($5.3 billion) to resume and increase the built-in resort.
The truncated license renewal has not modified Resorts World Sentosa’s growth or funding plans, Lee mentioned.
The corporate opened two new sights in 2025, Minion Land on the Common Studios Singapore theme park, and the Singapore Oceanarium, which changed the built-in resort’s older S.E.A. Aquarium.
“This 12 months is known as a game-changing 12 months for us,” she mentioned. “Over the subsequent few years… to 2030, we will likely be persevering with to launch new sights.”
In asserting the two-year license renewal, the Playing Regulatory Authority thought of Resorts World Sentosa’s potential to “develop, preserve and promote” itself as a compelling vacationer vacation spot.
When requested which of those areas the resort is concentrated on, Lee mentioned: “The large push for us is actually reworking Resorts World Sentosa right into a premium way of life vacation spot.”
Tapping into ‘experiences’
Purchasing, as soon as a high precedence for vacationers in Asia, will not be a precedence within the resort’s transformation, mentioned Lee.
“Our focus is actually into experiences,” Lee mentioned.
The choice to interchange a “Madagascar” movie-themed space of Common Studios Singapore with Minion Land was, partly, associated to the common attraction of the characters within the “Despicable Me” franchise, she added.
“Minions stood out as a result of … this yellow character could be very resonate to all ages of holiday makers, and all world wide due to the language that they use. It resonates from Asia to Europe to America and in every single place else. So to us, there is a frequent language we are able to use,” she mentioned.
Minions converse their very own language, known as Minionese, which includes parts of English, Spanish, Italian, Chinese language and Tagalog, amongst others, in keeping with the “Despicable Me” fandom web site.
Resorts World Sentosa can be planning to open new inns, together with The Laurus, a luxurious resort designed like a “collector’s house” in Singapore, that’s set to open later in 2025, Lee mentioned.
In coming years, the built-in resort is planning to launch Tremendous Nintendo World inside Common Studios Singapore, in addition to an elevated waterfront way of life advanced with a 700-room resort, mountain climbing trails and a 289-foot mild sculpture, she mentioned.
“The waterfront way of life advanced is actually going to boost the attraction of the Larger Southern Waterfront,” she mentioned. The advanced is a “brownfield mission,” which will likely be seen from mainland Singapore.
Lee declined to touch upon whether or not the deliberate way of life advanced can have gaming amenities.
—CNBC’s Kaela Ling contributed to this report.
