Gambling - boon or bane?

With the two IRs expecting to open in one or two years time, some welcomed its opening as a effective way of boosting our tourism industry, while many argued it's negative social impacts should be carefully taken into consideration.

It is foregone conclusion that casinos are "tourist-magnets". Normally, developed cities would have one or two casionos that would greatly boost their tourism industry. Singapore, being no exception, is alread half-way through its construction.

Many support the IRs because it would help alleviate the problem of unemployment, amidst a pressing unemployment problem. But statistics seem to show that more than half of the workers planned to be employed are actually foreigners, who are well-perceived for having high global standards.

With the IR just at our doorstep, what social consequences would it cause. Not only does it seem to be unable to alleviate problems of unemployment, it also brings a troublesome lot of problems with it.

This year sees a great jump in suicide cases, according to statistics, and most of the suicide cases are related to huge debts brought by gambling addiction.

It is clear that gambling is against the long-standing moral teachings of earning money the honest and modest way. It is also common knowledge amongst the more experienced visitors that out of ten games in a casino, you would lose nine games.

We have seen newspaper reportings almost daily, showing casees of people jumping to their death, couples getting a divorce, and many more... all because of gambling debts.

Many have the common psychological mindset that one day, they would earn it big. But history has already revealed to us the truth - it is impossible to win in a casino, people just keep losing until they accumulate a huge debt, and when they are unable to repay the debts, they usually jump and escape from it all. Yet people are just the way they are - stubborn and unable to learn from history mistakes.

Today, without the Integrated Resorts, the world is a chaotic place, and life is a nightmare for compulsive gamblers. In two years time, I cannot imagine what Singapore would become.