Straits Time 6 July 2007
Clubs pledge vigilance against problem gambling
Singapore Pools, Turf Club and 12 jackpot operators to abide by
code for responsible gaming
By Yap Su-Yin
EVERY year, the NTUC Club gets two or three members asking to be
banned from playing the jackpot machines.
The club, which runs 200 such machines in its five clubhouses, duly
turns them away when they come for a 'fix'.
Soon, such 'self-exclusion' services will be offered at 11 other
clubs which operate jackpot machines, as well as by the Singapore
Turf Club and Singapore Pools.
This move is part of the National Council on Problem Gambling's
(NCPG) Responsible Gaming Code of Practice, which these gaming
places have pledged to stick to.
The code is aimed at setting some ground rules for responsible
gambling.
Being party to it is voluntary and gaming operators who agree to
observe it have to prominently display gambling-addiction helpline
numbers and ensure that their advertisements do not give the
impression that gambling is an easy way to get rich.
Many operators say that they already practise what the code
promotes.
The Singapore Turf Club, recently started stamping a Play
Responsibly logo on every betting slip; its 400 television monitors
flash a similar message, said its spokesman.
The Turf Club pulls in about 12,000 punters on an average race day.
Another 10,000 place bets at its other centres.
A key area covered by the code asks that gaming operators commit to
training frontline staff to spot and refer problem gamblers to
people who can help them.
The code will also require gaming places to produce an annual
report card listing the staff who have attended approved training
courses in responsible gaming.
In another apparent bid to ensure that the code goes beyond being a
nicety, gaming places will also need to state how many apply for
self-exclusion and the number referred to help services.
The NCPG was set up in August 2005 to tackle social problems linked
to gambling ahead of the 2010 opening of the two integrated resorts
here.
Yesterday, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports
Vivian Balakrishnan officiated at Singapore's first gambling
conference organised by the NCPG.
He said he hoped that operators who had not pledged their
commitment to the code would be spurred to do so.
He disclosed that studies would be done on the prevalence of
problem gambling and a panel of international experts on the
subject set up.
'We have to remain eternally vigilant, because we cannot stamp
gambling out. Otherwise, it goes underground,' he added.
He also expressed concern over the vulnerability of youth
gamblers.
The two-day conference addresses problem gambling and also explores
treatment methods for gambling addiction; counsellors will share
their stories about helping gamblers and their families.
For some counsellors, the voluntary nature of the code emerged as a
sticking point during discussions.
But the co-founder and executive director for Family Life Centre
David Kan, who was not at the conference, said it was as crucial to
find out what pushed someone to gamble in the first place.
'If a person sees gambling as a relief from his emotional problems,
he will still find a loophole somewhere.'
A self-confessed problem gambler, who wanted to be known as Mr Teo,
wants boundaries drawn.
Being physically kept out of a gambling place on the order of his
own relatives might be 'more effective', he said.
The 45-year-old, who once blew $18,000 a month on Toto and the 4-D
draw, said the 'gamble responsibly' message would be lost on most
problem gamblers - until their debts get too big.
Until then, 'we don't think about reading stuff like that because
we don't believe we have a problem'.
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