Dec 15, 2004
THE CASINO DEBATE
Can S'pore tackle massive addiction?
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sub/storyprintfriendly/0,5578,290605,00.html?
A MAJOR argument for the establishment of a casino in Singapore is that we already have several forms of gambling, so a casino will not change anything.
However, legalised gambling in a casino cannot be compared to current forms of legalised gambling due to the difference in the time-frame of gratification, from the placing of a bet to the settling of the bet. In the case of a Singapore Sweep lottery ticket, it takes from a few days to a few weeks from the buying of the ticket to the release of the results - and gratification of the gambling. Buying 4-D or Toto takes from a few hours to a few days to achieve gratification.
Would it be a surprise if I tell you that research shows that the shorter the time to gratification, the higher the chance of addiction? Hence, there are more people addicted to 4-D and Toto than there are those addicted to Singapore Sweep.
Now imagine the time-frame shortened by an order of magnitude in a casino. From the time a gambler places a bet to the time the bet is settled, gratification occurs in mere seconds. Indeed, for jackpot machines, the timeframe may even be in milliseconds.
You can place more than one million bets in a casino in the time taken to settle one Singapore Sweep lottery-ticket bet.
With that short a time-frame to gratification, a casino will cause a massive increase in gambling addiction.
Thus, gambling in a casino is significantly different from current legalised gambling in Singapore.
If we ignore the moral and economic aspects of the casino issue, it boils down to this: 'Is Singapore prepared for the massive increase in gambling addiction that will come with the setting up of a casino?'
Thomas Sim Wai Tat (Dr)
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