• Before the two casinos opened at Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands in 2010, it was illegal to set up casinos in Singapore. To get around this, some cruise ship operators would organise gambling activities onboard once the ship entered international waters. According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), a “cruise to nowhere” is defined as a round trip from a Singapore port that does not exceed 36 hours. At that time, most ferries offering a “cruise to nowhere” were related to gambling activities.
• Floating casinos were badly affected by the opening of the land casinos at Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. In 2011, a floating casino called the Long Jie ceased operations after running for four years.

In recent years, more elderly patrons in Singapore are choosing to visit floating casinos. This is because they are either unwilling to pay the casino entrance fees levied on mainland Singapore or they are trying to find a way around casino exclusion orders. (Lianhe Zaobao, 15/3/2015)