More than 28,000 Singaporeans who are bankrupt or receiving government aid will be banned from two casinos due to open in early 2010, a gambling watchdog said Thursday.

The National Council of Problem Gambling said the 28,661 individuals placed on an "exclusion" list won't be allowed to step into the casinos at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa, now in their final stages of construction.

The list covers people legally declared bankrupt, as well as recipients of government aid, who will be notified through letters about their status.

Individuals can also check a website to see if they are among those who are banned, said the council, which was established to help mitigate any social fallout spawned by the opening of Singapore's first casinos.

Apart from those on the automatic exclusion list, family members can also ask the council to have a relative banned from the casinos.

Problem gambling has been blamed for broken families, suicides and corporate theft in Singapore, where punters already bet heavily on state-linked lotteries and horse racing.

Individuals can also voluntarily request exclusion from the casinos if they consider themselves prone to "compulsive and excessive gambling," the council said in a statement.

In addition, Singapore citizens and permanent residents are required to pay S$100 ($71) before entering the casinos.

The list of restricted individuals will be given to the casinos, which will have to enforce the ban under pain of fines of up to S$1 million ($725,000), the Straits Times reported.

AFP