ZENDEN TAN, LYDIA NABILAH BINTE MOHAMMAD AZHAR and KATHY LOW explore the impact of social gambling on youths.
[VIDEO: TAN CHI SIANG, ZENDEN, VOICE: LYDIA NABILAH]
“I was sacrificing my social life and my personal leisure [just for 10 minutes of fun],” says Mr Kenneth Lee, 21, a full-time national serviceman, recounting how he would lose his pocket money and forgo social activities due to his pendant for gambling.
As a gullible 14-year-old then, Mr Lee fell prey to the temptations of social gambling. Mr Lee was driven by the desire for materialistic gains, he lost a total of $3,000 by the time he was 16.
Mr Lee is just one of many youths who partake in social gambling. According to a poll by YOUTHBOX, 60.1 percent of 168 respondents participate in social gambling.
INFOGRAPHIC: LYDIA NABILAH
As of Aug 1, 2022, social gambling, including mahjong and poker, has been legalised. Social gambling had never been clearly defined. However, under the new Gambling Control Act, social gambling is defined as gambling taking place in someone's home and participants have to be from the same family or know each other personally.
Mr Leslie KK Goh, 65, a communications and relations manager at WE CARE Community Services explained says, “The fact that they have legalised social gambling makes it easier for people to gamble.”
Nevertheless, social gambling is already a common sight among youths. “I started gambling often with Dai Di (Big Two) and blackjack during Chinese New Year, my family was part of it so I played with them too,” says Mr Lee. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), “Many problem gamblers are first exposed to social gambling activities during the festive season.”
However, social gambling poses severe concerns for youths if it develops into an addiction. According to Mr Goh, addiction lies on a spectrum, taking place in multiple phases. NCPG listed a few tell-tale signs on their website, one of which is that gambling addiction can mean “spending more time or money on gambling than he/she can afford”. Mr Lee is no different. Faced with a choice between regular meals and gambling, he often chooses the latter.
According to NCPG, another sign of gambling addiction is “borrowing money for gambling”. As a result of gambling often, Mr Lee did not have enough money to go out with his friends.
“People started to not like me because I kept borrowing money that I pay back but then I don't show up to meet them or hang out. So eventually, I didn't really have a solid social life in secondary school,” says Mr Lee. He also went to the extent of lying to his mother for more pocket money.
Gambling more in order to win back losses is also another sign of gambling addiction. Mr Lee says, “It's always the allure of ‘I can win this’, 'I almost had it’. ” He explained that it always came down to the mindset of “maybe if I played a bit more I can win a bit more, maybe if I just played my cards better”.
Ms Chia Yi Yun, 25, the secretariat of NCPG says that when one becomes entangled in the downward spiral of chasing losses and starts to borrow money to finance their gambling, they fall into desperation.
However, it is never too late to seek help as Ms Chia says, “Youths who need a helping hand can contact ec2.sg, a webchat service by Fei Yue Counselling for youths and parents."
Getting out of gambling addiction is not straightforward.
When Mr Lee finally saved enough money to buy a burger at a fast food restaurant, he realised that “this is what money can do, it was no longer just money equals branded or valued item, it was money equals [burger]”. That was his turning point when he decided to step away from social gambling.
Mr Goh cautions against complacency for the likes of Mr Lee.
“There is no 100 per cent cure, an addict who is stable will always have to be mindful of the way they live, the friends they make, the choices they make because, in later life, [their addiction] can recur again,” says Mr Goh.
Mr Lee says he finally stopped gambling at 20. While he knows the consequences, the temptation is always there.
Mr Lee says, “Until now it's still very tempting, it's just like whether I have the willpower to actually stop myself and realise the consequences.”
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