Singapore begins second phase of casino resort development

SINGAPORE -- When Lawrence Wong took over leadership of Singapore last month in the first such change in 20 years, one of the legacies of former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has come into focus -- casino resorts.

Under Lee's leadership, the tiny city-state opened up to two integrated casino resorts in 2010, boosting tourism. The economic impact has been significant. The two resorts "contributed 1% to 2%" of annual gross domestic product, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in 2019. Tourist arrivals doubled to 19.1 million over a decade through 2019.