Resorts World Sentosa will “be ready” when Singapore’s Gambling Regulatory Authority considers its casino license renewal in 2026, the company’s CEO Lee Shi Ruh told CNBC late last month.
In November 2024, Singapore’s gambling agency announced it was renewing the integrated resort’s casino license for two years, instead of three, citing “unsatisfactory” tourism performance from 2021 to 2023.
The announcement came after Resorts World Sentosa had pledged to invest $6.8 billion Singapore dollars ($5.3 billion) to renew and expand the integrated resort.
The truncated license renewal has not changed Resorts World Sentosa’s expansion or investment plans, Lee said.
The company opened two new attractions in 2025, Minion Land at the Universal Studios Singapore theme park, and the Singapore Oceanarium, which replaced the integrated resort’s older S.E.A. Aquarium.
“This year is really a game-changing year for us,” she said. “Over the next few years… to 2030, we will be continuing to launch new attractions.”
In announcing the two-year license renewal, the Gambling Regulatory Authority considered Resorts World Sentosa’s ability to “develop, maintain and promote” itself as a compelling tourist destination.
When asked which of these areas the resort is focused on, Lee said: “The big push for us is really transforming Resorts World Sentosa into a premium lifestyle destination.”
Tapping into ‘experiences’
Shopping, once a top priority for travelers in Asia, is not a priority in the resort’s transformation, said Lee.
“Our focus is really into experiences,” Lee said.
The decision to replace a “Madagascar” movie-themed area of Universal Studios Singapore with Minion Land was, in part, related to the universal appeal of the characters in the “Despicable Me” franchise, she added.
“Minions stood out because … this yellow character is very resonate to all ages of visitors, and all around the world because of the language that they use. It resonates from Asia to Europe to America and everywhere else. So to us, there’s a common language we can use,” she said.
Minions speak their own language, called Minionese, which incorporates elements of English, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Tagalog, among others, according to the “Despicable Me” fandom website.
Resorts World Sentosa is also planning to open new hotels, including The Laurus, a luxury hotel designed like a “collector’s home” in Singapore, that is set to open later in 2025, Lee said.
In coming years, the integrated resort is planning to launch Super Nintendo World inside Universal Studios Singapore, as well as an elevated waterfront lifestyle complex with a 700-room hotel, hiking trails and a 289-foot light sculpture, she said.
“The waterfront lifestyle complex is really going to enhance the appeal of the Greater Southern Waterfront,” she said. The complex is a “brownfield project,” which will be visible from mainland Singapore.
Lee declined to comment on whether the planned lifestyle complex will have gaming facilities.
—CNBC’s Kaela Ling contributed to this report.
