Losing Starts from Winning

Standfirst: The Lunar New Year calls for gambling among youths,
which may lead to gambling problems in future
Lead: Youths who take part in gambling activities during the Lunar
New Year are at risk of becoming a problem gambler.
2014 saw gambling as the top three reasons why people aged 30 and
below, seek debt counselling at Credit Counselling Singapore (CSS), a
registered charity organisation that counsels consumers facing debt
problems.
According to Ms Quek Shi Ping, assistant manager of Ministry of
Social and Family Development (MSF), key periods where gambling
intensifies are during events such as the Lunar New Year and soccer
seasons.
I always see people playing cards at the void deck during Chinese
New Year. To them, it is a form of leisure, said Mr Lim Cheng Boon,
counsellor at CCS. But something of leisure can become a habit and
they may not be aware of it.
That is the case for Sim Wei Xiang, 20, a youth who started gambling
because he thought it was fun. It became a habit and he started to
gamble every day and on every Lunar New Year. As of now, he has not
experienced any form of serious trouble from gambling.
I know where are my limits, so I wont get addicted to gambling,
said Wei Xiang.
However, Eric (not his real name), 20, has not been as lucky.
After losing $50 to a gamble during the Lunar New Year, he bet twice
the amount by borrowing money from his friends. However, he lost
more than he gained and accumulated debts easily adding up to $1000.
I felt bad owing my friends money, that I decided to quit gambling
after that, said Eric.
By working and saving up, he managed to repay his debts within a
month. However, it took him several months before he could
completely quit gambling by his own will.

Problem gamblers are individuals who are addicted to gambling and

find it difficult to stop. Besides having little to no control over
themselves, they are constantly preoccupied by thoughts of gambling,
said Ms Quek.
Although Eric and Weixiang are not problem gamblers, they are not
entirely excluded from being one.
As the saying goes, Losing starts from winning, said Mr Lim.
After winning the first time, they will be hooked to it already and will
want to bet again.
A latest survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG)
showed that those aged 18 to 29 have a 60 per cent chance of being
problem gamblers, the second highest age group prone to problem
gambling.
Max Koh, director of Thye Hua Kwan Problem Gambling Recovery
Centre, said while there are programmes creating awareness about
gambling amongst youths, more could be done. The critical question to
ask is, how do youths learn to draw the line?
In which Mr Lim said, youths have to make sure it is within their
means to spend this amount of money and that they can part with,
without consequences.
In other words, they should set aside a budget for different uses and
aspects of their life, such as leisure and entertainment, so that they do
not overspend and use up all their money.
Mr Lim also said, youths have to learn to pay themselves by
advocating a percentage from their monthly earnings or allowances to
save up for emergencies, instead of spending their future money on
leisure and entertainment.
Ms Quek warned youths to set a time limit when participating in
gambling activities during the festive seasons and make sure that they
do not chase after losses.
Dont get into the habit, and if you are already in the habit, seek help
and resolve it early, said Mr Lim.