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Taken from another website....i really have doubt but wait..how much collected from entrance yearly have not been reported. This will roughly be the gauge on whether there is an increase or not....imo No increase in gambling addiction after casinos opened 28 Mar 2018 09:00 The setting up of the two casinos here in 2010 did not lead to more Singaporeans getting hooked on gambling, as many had feared before they opened at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. The pathological and problem gambling rate among Singaporeans and permanent residents was 0.9 per cent in the 2017 survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling. It inched up from 0.7 per cent in the 2014 survey, but the change is not statistically significant, the council's spokesman said. The survey is done every three years to find out the extent and pattern of gambling here. The latest study was released yesterday. In fact, gambling addiction rates have been falling since the first survey in 2005 - way before the casinos opened, checks by The Straits Times have found. In the 2005 study, the addiction rate was 4.1 per cent, and this fell to 2.9 per cent in the 2008 survey and to 2.6 per cent in the 2011 study. Pathological gambling is more serious than problem gambling.

SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - As the Covid-19 pandemic grips the world, claiming thousands of lives daily, some have decided to turn the crisis into a game. Illegal gambling websites are targeting punters in Singapore and other countries by offering the option of betting on the daily number of cases. The New Paper found at least five such sites, all of which have a similar betting interface. The sites encourage punters to place bets on the last digit of the number of daily new cases announced by Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Punters can also bet on whether the number is even or odd, and if the latest number in the respective countries is higher than the previous day's. ODDS AND RESULTS The daily odds and results are displayed with other sports betting options and appear to have taken on more prominence than football betting, the usual mainstay of such sites. Psychiatrists who spoke to The New Paper said that while they had not expected gamblers to bet on coronavirus cases, they were not surprised. Dr Adrian Wang, a psychiatrist and counsellor at Gleneagles Medical Centre, said problem gamblers would turn to any avenue, including illegal ones, to feed their addiction. "The act of gambling triggers pleasure centres in the brain, releasing neurochemicals that give them a sense of reward and satisfaction," he said. "They need this regular fix. Like an alcoholic who suddenly finds himself unable to afford whisky and has to settle for cheap rice wine, problem gamblers who can't bet in the casino or on suspended soccer games... will take what's available." The betting options on Covid-19 cases surfaced after the suspension of legal betting outlets in Singapore. The two casinos, Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club have suspended operations since the circuit breaker period began on April 7. Measures to fight the pandemic, such as movement restrictions, have also made many punters turn to online gambling services. A recent study by analytics group AlphaBeta in Australia found that online gambling there has shot up by more than 65 per cent since last month. Similarly, website Global Poker noted a 43 per cent rise in the use of similar sites in the United States, with a 255 per cent increase in first-time users, gaming news site Inside Asian Gaming reported. As remote gambling is regulated in Singapore, a police spokesman told TNP that firm action will be taken against anyone found to be involved in illegal gambling. "The police are aware of betting activities relating to the number of daily Covid-19 cases and are looking into the matter," she added. Stressing that online betting contravenes the Remote Gambling Act, she said the police take a serious view of all forms of illegal remote gambling and will take tough enforcement action against offenders. Under the Act, those caught using an illegal remote gambling service can be fined up to $5,000, or jailed for up to six months, or both. Anyone who provides such an illegal service, whether from Singapore or overseas, can be fined up to $200,000, or jailed for up to five years, or both. Even with tough penalties and the dark reality of what they are betting on, problem gamblers are unlikely to be deterred, said Dr Munidasa Winslow, senior consultant psychiatrist at Promises Healthcare. Noting that such people will find a way to gamble in some form even when deprived of legal means, he said: "If they don't have Singapore Pools, they will turn to online bookies and anyone else who is willing to take a bet. "Betting on the number of daily Covid-19 cases is dark, but in the mind of a gambler, it's just another avenue for what they claim is a game of skill." He added that problem gamblers will delude themselves and may even be spurred on by betting on distasteful topics. Dr Winslow said some of them may see this as adding to the thrill, so they will "bet on deaths, or when a serial killer will be caught, a lot of strange things". "Even if they are gambling on people's lives, they will make that bet if someone is willing to accept it."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/problem-gambling-60-more/1982730.html The increase is due partly to greater public education efforts, which have raised awareness on problem gambling and encouraged help-seeking behaviour, says Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin. Yeah right. IMO this is just a tip of the iceberg. I will point out why later. SINGAPORE: The Thye Hua Kwan Problem Gambling Recovery Centre and the National Addictions Management Service (NAMS) at the Institute of Mental Health saw 1,000 more cases of problem gambling in the last three years compared to the three-year period prior, Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said in Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 14). Mr Tan said the two key service points for treatment saw a combined total of 2,700 cases between 2012 and 2014 - almost 60 per cent more than the number seen between 2009 and 2011. “The increase is due partly to greater public education efforts, which have raised awareness on problem gambling and encouraged help-seeking behaviour,” he said. Responding to questions by MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Christopher de Souza, Mr Tan said that the two institutions are available to help problem gamblers and their families, adding that Thye Hua Kwan treats less serious cases, while NAMS also sees to the more severe pathological gamblers. There are also other private and non-funded community and religious organisations offering similar services, he added. On the types of counselling used to help gamblers “break out of the vicious cycle”, Mr Tan said the treatment plan for each problem gambler varies depending on the severity of his addiction: “It usually involves a combination of counselling and different types of therapy, conducted on an individual or group basis. "Psychiatric services may be extended for the more severe pathological gamblers. Financial and legal counselling services, where necessary, are also extended to help the problem gambler and his family cope. Recovering patients are encouraged to join support groups for longer term support.” While tackling the "complex" issue of problem gambling requires the combined efforts of personal responsibility, family involvement, community involvement and government support, the Minister highlighted that the family is “often in the best position” to detect signs of problem gambling in their loved ones and assist them in seeking treatment. “Studies have shown that treatment works best if the problem gambler is accompanied by family members,” he said. Mr Tan also spoke of community support, saying that more Family Service Centres have stepped up efforts to train their counsellors and social workers to provide the first line of counselling and assistance when meeting families faced with problem gambling issues. Now we look deeper to see more of the iceberg I mentioned earlier. http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/some-cabbies-seeking-bets-not-fares It's Friday evening and it has just started to drizzle. You try to book a taxi, but find there are none available. It is frustrating but not really surprising - it is a known fact that demand for cabs skyrockets when it rains and on weekend nights, including Fridays. However, besides demand spikes, there is a lesser known contributor to the dearth of cabs when you need one: gambling cabbies. Industry observers estimate 5 to 10 per cent of taxi drivers are habitual gamblers. Checks at carparks of the two integrated resorts reveal a sizeable number of parked cabs - often during peak demand hours for them. On horse-racing days - Fridays and weekends - carparks at satellite betting centres are also filled with taxis. There are 10 such centres here, and the most popular one is in Bukit Merah. A recent check revealed more than 50 parked cabs there between 6pm and 7pm on a Friday. I have been to the old HDB HQ in Bukit Merah on a Friday evening before and couldn't find a spot to park...now I know why. Said Neo Nam Heng, chairman of the Prime group of companies, including Prime Taxi: "This is the worst problem of taxi drivers. And there's no rule to stop them." Prime Taxi general manager Eric Ang said: "Gamblers do not only miss rental payments, (but) they are not meeting service requirements too. "Their mentality is strange - instead of making money during the peak period, they'd rather gamble. Some of them will say: 'If I win, I will win more than the rental.' " Premier Taxi managing director Lim Chong Boo said: "It is not a new problem, and it has worried us a lot all this while." Trans-Cab general manager Jasmine Tan said gambling is one of the top causes of drivers missing rental payments, "but so are drinking and womanising". "We try to help them by giving them a repayment scheme. But if they don't follow it, we terminate (their services)." A ComfortDelGro spokesman said gambling is not a major problem, but that it is keeping a close watch on the situation. The phenomenon is no comfort to commuters, who complain that it is often hard to find a cab even though Singapore has the highest taxi population per head among developed cities. There are 5.2 cabs per 1,000 residents here, compared with 3.3 in London, 2.6 in Hong Kong and 1.5 in New York. The situation is such that commuters are now choosing parallel taxi services on apps such as Uber and GrabTaxi - even when the cost of a ride is often much higher than that of a conventional cab. Human resource consultant Alex Yew, 43, once saw close to 100 cabs in a carpark where a Singapore Turf Club betting centre is located. He said: "That was just one carpark - there are three carparks in the vicinity. If you multiply that by the number of betting centres around the island, it is a significant number of cabs. "So I can understand why people feel that's it's difficult to get a taxi during peak hours." The Straits Times talked to a couple of cabbies at the Resorts World Sentosa carpark earlier this month on the condition of anonymity. Said one of them, a 40-something SilverCab driver: "It's my first time here. I've been to Las Vegas, Macau and Perth, but I've not been here." Asked why he was visiting a casino when it was peak period for fares, he replied confidently: "I'm only driving part-time. I work in a logistics firm, I work 15 days, I get 15 days off. "So I thought I'd drive a cab when I'm off. When I'm not driving, I'm with my family. We've a three-year-old, so I can't come here when I'm with them." Another cabby, with leading operator Comfort, denied that he was there to gamble. "I am here to meet friends for dinner," the 50-something said as he was getting back into his taxi in the VIP section of the carpark just before 6pm. "I was in the area, so I thought I'd call them to meet up for dinner." This fellow lie also can't lie w/o picharing his own lobang.

very strict laws. Christian couple caned in Banda Aceh for gambling28 FEB 2018 Authorities in Banda Aceh have caned a non-Muslim married couple on Tuesday after the two were arrested for gambling at an entertainment center in the capital of Aceh. The Aceh Sharia Court sentenced the Christian couple, identified as Dahlan Sili Tongga, 61, and Tjia Nyuk Hwa, 45, to eight and seven lashes respectively for violating provincial laws. Aceh is the only province that upholds sharia, although non-Muslims found guilty of committing crimes that are regulated under the Criminal Code (KUHP) such as gambling can choose to either be punished by incarceration as stipulated under the KUHP or under provincial sharia. The couple were found guilty of violating a jinayat (Islamic bylaw) on gambling. The caning took place outside the Babussalam Mosque in Lampaseh Aceh, Meuraxa, Banda Aceh. Each lash is the equivalent of one month's incarceration, thus the Christian couple were said to have preferred to receive corporal punishment. The court also sentenced Ridwan, 67, to 22 lashes for allowing gambling to take place on his premises. The authorities confiscated coins, vouchers and cash from Ridwan. The court also convicted unmarried couple Muzakkir and Cut Hamidar for khalwat (affectionate contact between an unmarried couple). The couple received 25 lashes each. “This punishment shows our commitment [to implementing sharia]. We want to create a deterrent so that other people do not violate sharia,” Banda Aceh Mayor Aminullah Usman said, adding that the caning was deliberately carried out in an open space so that the public could see it. “This is different to imprisonment, in which the public can’t see [the convicts being punished],” he said, adding that he called on people to report any violations of sharia to local authorities. http://www.asiaone.com/asia/christian-couple-caned-banda-aceh-gambling

Seems like the gambling ( legal type) have increased with the economic boom we are currently experiencing. I can see more ppl spending more than desirable in placing bets for various forms of gambling availiable under legal betting houses and the authorities are really not addressing the issue well or keeping a control of ppl from getting addicted. By personal view is that if one would to consistently spend more than $50 per month on bets of any kind , it would be considered that there is a HIGH POSSIBILITY OF A GAMBLING ADDICTION IN THAT PERSON. But I get different views of what qualifies as a gambling addiction of the ppl I had asked. What's your view?

Singapore remains a largely conservative society in which pre-marital sex and having a child out of wedlock are still frowned upon. That was the finding of a survey on social morality by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), released on Tuesday. The questions were asked as part of a wider survey of more than 4,000 Singaporeans on race, language and religion. Some 80 per cent of respondents said extra-marital affairs are always or almost always wrong, and 72.5 per cent held that view on getting pregnant before marriage. More than half, or 56.4 per cent of respondents, felt that sex should come after marriage. The survey’s principal investigator, Dr Mathew Mathews, an Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) senior research fellow, said: “Overall, as you can see, Singaporeans are fairly conservative in their outlook to such issues.” The survey asked respondents to indicate how they feel on a range of social issues by choosing whether it is “not wrong most of the time or not wrong at all”, “only wrong sometimes” or “always wrong or almost always wrong”. There was wider acceptance for living with a partner before marriage. Some 33.3 per cent said that it was not wrong most of the time, compared to 44.4 per cent who said it was always wrong. While 22.5 per cent of respondents said that divorce is acceptable, compared to 43.1 per cent who said its always wrong. The survey also asked about attitudes towards homosexual relations. When it came to sexual relations between two adults of the same sex, 78.2 per cent of respondents said it was wrong. And 72.9 per cent did not agree with gay marriage. However, fewer disagreed with gay couples adopting a child, with 61 per cent saying it was wrong or almost always wrong. On gambling, 69.2 per cent of respondents said they are against it. Said Dr Mathews: “Those who claimed to have no religion, Buddhists and Taoists were more liberal than those who are Christian and Muslims. Differences were marginal in some areas with high consensus, such as homosexual relations and sexual affairs, but more pronounced for other areas.” Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/singaporeans-still-largely-conservative-ips-survey-finds-20140128

I have been wanting to recoup my losses but end up losing more! Been donating to singaporepools!

The Straits Times www.straitstimes.com Published on Nov 4, 2011 http://www.straitstimes.com/print/Breaking...ory_730424.html special report Bosses send foreign workers to gamble Workers share in casino winnings, but if they lose too much, they pay By Elizabeth Soh A hard day's work for Bangladeshi construction worker Salim used to mean toiling under the burning sun. But nowadays, at least once a week, he finds himself assigned to a very different kind of 'job' - playing the jackpot machines in the cool air-conditioned comfort of Resorts World Sentosa. The 29-year-old is one of a number of foreign employees being sent to the casino to gamble on behalf of their employers to feed their own habit, a Straits Times investigation has found. Five bosses - some with exclusion orders against them - told The Straits Times that they have been handing workers cash, notebooks and mobile phones, then dispatching them to the casino. They claimed to know several other employers doing the same thing. The 'proxy gamblers', dressed mostly in company polo T-shirts and jeans, get a cut of the winnings, but if they lose too much, their pay is docked. Copyright

I am surprise the authorities have the statistics of gamblers in singapore before and after the opening of casinos [rolleyes] SINGAPORE: The presence of the Integrated Resorts (IRs) here has not caused a spike in the number of gambling addicts, said Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) chairman Richard Magnus on Friday, citing a study done by the Institute of Mental Health. Speaking at a question and answer session at the 23rd Singapore Law Review Annual Lecture, Mr Magnus said that the study concluded that gambling addiction numbers before and after the establishment of the IRs remained the same. What the IRs did, though, was provide "just another avenue for gambling", said Mr Magnus. He added: "The thinking is that some of these gamblers moved away from the traditional gambling areas and move into casinos." Responding to a question on the social impact of casinos, CRA chief executive Lau Peet Meng, who was also at the event, revealed that the authorities are studying overseas models where it is compulsory for gamblers to declare how much they want to lose before they step into the casino. Currently, patrons to the IRs here can voluntarily cap their gambling outlay. On the call for greater transparency with regard to the number of Singaporeans entering the casinos, Mr Lau agreed that this could be looked into. "It is ... probably one of the aspects of the (Casino Control) Act (that) we need to look at more carefully, which is the legality of the information and how the information shared can be used," he said. But Mr Magnus reiterated: "I can perhaps give you the assurance that the local urban legend that quite a number of our locals or PRs frequent the casinos ... is just a legend." Mr Magnus noted that several challenges lie ahead in the regulation of the IRs. Apart from the "creative ways of money laundering", the casino industry might also change in the years ahead from one that is incentivised to self-regulate - due to the high profits - to one where the industry turns stale. Earlier in his speech, Mr Magnus also said that, while the authorities hope that the IRs are "mature participants who see the value of self-regulation ... we cannot discount the possibility of market failure". He added that there will be occasions where the casino operators and regulator will not view self-disclosure as a win-win situation and that will be when CRA needs to intervene. - TODAY http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1143949/1/.html

Yahoo News report : Malaysians gamble

Now that we are gg to have 2 casinos, I wonder if say a person decides to pay 2k for a year entry, does this 2k entitles him to go to 1 or both casinos? The levy is imposed to deter gambling.. so if say one paid 2k already, then he should have access to BOTH casino (note that the 2k is not gg into pocket of casino but govt). Which casino he goes to should be inmaterial since levy is for gambling and NOT in the nature of a club access fee. p.s: title should be 2k Gambling levy, not $100. My wrong.

hey guys, i'm doing a proj on online gaming/gambling and that includes telephones and pagers... do you have any idea or heard from any friends about gambling using the phone or "pager" as a medium? eg. with bookies, you may get smses from the bookies to give the odds, and you can call them to place your bets but you'll still have to meet a runner to get the $ or pay the $. or illegal horsebetting where some use the old style pager to get odds and news about the horses. can anyone provide me more information, you don't necessarily have to have done it before, but i just need good information on how it works. like... how the information comes through, how the odds are communicated to the bettor, how the bets are placed, how the $ is exchanged? thanks a lot!!!

Its almost a week into CNY. so what is your position so far? what did you play? I played majong with in laws. Loss almost every single chip until the last wind and last player (North wind) and i "zhi mo" limit and take back 2/3 what i loss. total damage around $50. hee.... the rest of the days played black jack also lose around $100. this year not a gambling year for me.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20081028/tap-...ee-231650b.html ""There are some one million credit card holders in Singapore in June 2008. Of these, nearly four in 10 roll over their credit payment, meaning they pay a minimum amount of their outstanding bill each month."" Four in ten roll over their credit?? Is it really this bad??? I think 40% is a very high figure !!! This 40% really have no money to pay or they just refuse to pay on time??? I wonder ?? 40% is really !!!! Anyone here care to shed some truth ?? Or the news is really the truth ???

A CUSTOMER service executive siphoned almost $2 million from his company over two years, and then lost it all in casinos. A district court heard that while under probe for his sprees in Genting Highlands and on cruise ships, Ng Ting Hwa, 32, lied to get himself a new passport - and promptly left town to visit casinos. In just six months from December 2006 to May last year, he blew $826,500 at the gaming tables. He has paid back only $72,500 of that sum. Yesterday, Ng was jailed a total of 71/2 years. He is single and holds a Bachelor of Science, Banking and Finance degree from the University of London at the Singapore Institute of Management. The court heard that in 2004, he started working at Molnlycke Health Care Asia-Pacific, a leading provider of medical products. From April 2005 till May last year, he sent his company's goods to Econworldwide Medical Group, an importer of branded health products. Except for two occasions, Econworldwide paid Ng in cash or with cheques made out to him, rather than to his company. In all, he pocketed $1.96 million from 35 shipments to Econworldwide. It was only in May last year that his company's finance and logistics director raised the alarm over the many suspicious transactions in which goods had been shipped, but no payment received. When confronted, Ng admitted that he had made use of the company's sales and distribution software system to prepare invoices and arrange for the goods to be delivered. After the police took away his passport during the investigation, he decided to take a short break, according to his lawyer, Ms Hemalatha Silwaraju. Ng went to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), claimed that he had lost his passport and obtained a new one. He used it to make several trips, including to Genting Highlands and a cruise ship's casino. Deputy Public Prosecutors Amarjit Singh and Ong Luan Tze, asking for a stiff sentence, said Ng was unrepentant and had scant regard for the law and his company's trust in him. Of his lying to get a replacement passport, Mr Amarjit said: 'He did not even have a valid reason to leave the country. Instead, he took a few leisure trips out, purportedly to gamble yet again!' District Judge Thian Yee Sze said it was outrageous for Ng to have left Singapore with ill-gotten money, and imposed a rare jail term of 11/2 years for each of two charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, which makes it criminal for proceeds of a crime to be moved out of Singapore. For lying to the ICA to get a new passport, he was jailed another two years; the rest of his jail term was imposed for two counts of criminal breach of trust. Ng, who pleaded guilty last month to six charges, had 12 others considered during sentencing. His lawyer, Ms Silwaraju, said that he regretted his offences, had cooperated with the authorities and had become involved in community work. But Judge Thian was not impressed. She said Ng's offences were pre-meditated and planned, and he had no regard for the administration and enforcement of justice. The court took a grave view of such conduct, she said, adding that a deterrent sentence was called for to warn others against committing similar offences. If he kept the $$$, JAIL for 71/2 years WORTH IT OR NOT [idea]