The $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands casino in Singapore had its soft opening Tuesday, but as it's the second casino to open there in less than three months, concerns are being raised about the potential for gambling addiction.

Located in the financial district, the Marina Bay Sands sits just next to the world's largest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer, and faces the symbolic Merlion statue, a national monument.

The casino hotel comprises three 55-story towers holding up a large sky-park that provides a full view of the prosperous skyline of the surrounding metropolis.

Different from the island-located Resorts World Sentosa casino that opened on Chinese New Year, the Marina Bay Sands opted for luxury hotels and shopping malls rather than more family-friendly attractions such as a Universal Studios theme park.

The new resort also boasts exhibition and convention facilities, in a bid to cater to the corporate and convention crowd.

But all the pomp and circumstance aside, some analysts foresee the casinos becoming an addiction for people who live nearby, noting that southeast Asians are sometimes seen as having a relatively high propensity to gamble.

Despite the S$100 ($73) entrance fee for Singapore residents and the addition of exclusion orders implemented to stop potential addicts from stepping in, many punters, foreigners and locals, have been pouring into the Sentosa every day.

A security guard at Sentosa casino speculated on the number of people, saying the number is several thousand Monday through Friday and more on weekends.

"From my personal observation, there are around 30 percent locals among visitors," the guard told the Global Times as he stood near a warning notice that says "Stop before you exceed your limits."

The consultation regarding how to apply for exclusion orders began to surge in February, but few "problem gamblers" have reportedly sought on-site help to curb their addictions.

The local Strait Times reported that in March alone, 17 people under exclusion orders, which ban them from the casinos, have been caught trying to sneak inside the Sentosa.

"If Singaporeans become conditioned to gambling as a necessary evil, then we may well be on the slippery slope," Eugene Tan, an assistant professor of law at Singapore Management University, told Reuters.

Luring with luxury

The Marina Bay Sands is the world's second-costliest casino, after MGM Mirage's CityCenter in Las Vegas, and is expected to generate at least $1 billion in annual profits, according to Reuters.

Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson said he expects to recoup his Singapore investment in five years, describing the development as the company's most valuable property thus far, AFP reported.

Moreover, the newly launched 200 shuttle buses between the doorsteps of the two casinos and cities in neighboring nations also make getting to the resorts much easier.

Singapore, which had long banned the gaming industry, legalized it in 2005 and is using the resorts to boost employment and lure tourists from abroad.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, the number of visitors to Singapore jumped 24 percent, year-on-year, to reach 857,000 in February.

Josephine Teo, assistant secretary-general of the National Trade Union Congress in Singapore, told the Global Times that the number of visitors is expected to reach 17 million by 2020, up from about 10 million now, which she called a "challenging task for a nation of less than 5 million."

"The two resort complexes are designed to make profits by running casinos to subsidize other travel facilities we are highlighting," she said. "That's why the casinos occupy less than 5 percent of the area of the resorts, while other related services also provide many employment opportunities for locals."

Government projections have estimated that each resort could contribute about S$2.7 billion ($1.9 billion) to the national GDP by 2015.

This windfall has even caught the eyes of other countries desperate for tourism boosts. In Japan, for instance, media outlets are speculating that the nation is planning to imitate Singapore by doing away with some gambling bans and building similar integrated resorts.