extracted from ST forums.
THE report, 'Hooked on gambling? Help coming to the heartland' (ST,
Oct 2
, is turning out to be a very big irony.
The Government seems very concerned that the coming integrated
resorts (IRs) will pose a serious threat to citizens' ability to
resist gambling, but are we not already gambling up to our
eyeballs, and right in the heartland?
Let's face it: Singapore Pools, with its hundred over outlets, has
successfully brought gambling to our doorsteps. It's almost
impossible to find a Singapore Pools outlet without a long queue on
any day.
If gambling is bad for our financial health, why did the Government
allow Singapore Pools to open so many outlets in the
heartland?
And did we ever hear an MP raise objection to this infestation of
gambling in the heartland?
The easy accessibility to placing bets is not only eroding our work
ethic and churning out thousands of addicts, but it is also a very
bad influence on the thousands of teenagers who live so close to
these betting outlets.
Some may argue that wagering a little money on 4D every draw is
quite harmless, but are they aware several billions of dollars are
lost to Singapore Pools, plus another billion or two to illegal
operators?
Could this be one of the causes of the emergence of the New Poor in
Singapore, and also the average 350 personal bankruptcies every
month?
In fact, when you compare the 'house advantage' of a typical casino
game like roulette (2.7 per cent) to that of 4D (40 per cent), you
will realise why we are so broke playing 4D.
If you take a good look at the people patronising the Singapore
Pools outlets you cannot help but conclude that most of them are
low-income earners and poor housewives.
Why talk about helping the poor and the gambling addicts when, on
the other hand, the Singapore Pools outlets make it so easy for
them to lose their last dollar?
Another very bad sign I have observed among young people is that
more and more of them have taken to soccer betting, thanks in no
small part to the creativity of Singapore Pools in offering a wide
variety of bets, and right at our doorstep.
Have we forgotten the saying that it is easy to pick up a bad habit
in three days, but impossible to give it up forever?
If our future generation is more interested in making a quick buck
than an honest living, what hope do we have to preserve the
prosperity of the nation?
I am not totally against gambling, because all of us have a little
bit of risk-taking in our genes, which experts say will help us to
progress.
In fact, the coming IRs are good for our economy, although a few
lives may be ruined. But then again, we are old enough to know what
we are walking into, and IRs are not free to get in, and not so
accessible too.
The way I see it, the only Exclusion Order we need to take out is
to ban Singapore Pools from the heartland.
Mike Wong Kee Meng
