THE media’s recent attention on cyber casinos sprouting up like mushrooms after the rain in Sarawak has prompted this week’s rant on the bane of gambling.
Gambling has been in existence since the beginning of time in all societies around the world.
One of the earliest recordings of gambling was made by John Cabot in the 1400s of Native Americans who played games of chance. Archaeologists have even unearthed gaming sticks that date back to 6,000 BC.
Technically, gambling is a game of chance. Some may argue that we play games of chance each and every day of our lives – we take a gamble in work, business and even in love.
Plus, there are forms of gambling which are legalised. The most obvious in Malaysia would be the number forecast fever.
So why is gambling so wrong?
In most religions, gambling is a sin. By law, in some countries, gambling is illegal and warrants time in prison if found guilty.
Once upon a time, society even viewed gambling as a manifestation of the devil or witchcraft. And society then was not wrong in this perception.
While on the surface gambling presents excitement and anticipation of good things to come, the world of gambling also presents a darker side – a side where desperation, addiction, depression, debt and destruction reign.
In Malaysia, the effects of gambling are obvious. Over the years we have read about them in the papers – families torn apart just because a member of the family squanders away salaries, homes and cards to fund a deluded sense of hitting the jackpot.
There are also loan sharks intimidating families of gamblers who have resorted to borrowing from them to settle their gambling debts, as well as suicide attempts by debt ridden gamblers, because they cannot bear to face the world any more.
According to an article written by Christian Nordqvist in ‘Medical News Today’, those who have a problem with gambling do not only face financial woes, but can also suffer from psychological and health problems such as depression, migraine, distress, intestinal disorders and other anxiety-related problems, which eventually lead to suicide.
In fact, gambling addiction has become such a serious problem worldwide that countries such as the United States of America and Canada have regarded it as a public health concern and established institutions and help-lines to reach out to people addicted to gambling.
In Malaysia some families of those who have to bear the brunt of their gambling family members’ folly, especially with loan sharks, run to politicians to get help.
Not too long ago, gambling in Malaysia was confined to illegal gambling dens, the holo table in the bushes behind the kampung, the race track and Genting Highlands.
Looking back, these gambling avenues at least had some form of control – kids were not allowed to gamble, at least not in Genting Highlands, the race track or number forecast shops.
With technology these days, everyone can gamble. All one needs is a computer and Internet access.
Online or cyber gambling has become such a worrying trend the world over. There are thousands of gambling websites on the Internet and the number grows every day.
Because it is virtual, the lure of potentially winning big money is merely a click away, regardless of age, time and place.
Realising this, some devious businessmen have taken the opportunity to turn it into a more lucrative business for themselves, by setting up cyber gambling dens.
Adorned with festive-looking string lights and LEDs, these cyber gambling dens offer gamblers of all ages (there is no age control) the privacy they need to squander whatever money they have, away from the prying eyes of parents or family members.
They offer all sorts of games that are hooked up to even more unscrupulous gambling bosses who operate from as far away as Hong Kong or Taiwan.
Computers with games that are typically found in a physical casino – roulette, black jack, jackpot slots and even horse races, have taken over arcade machines.
And as the papers report it, the operators of these cyber gambling dens have become even more brazen these days and blatantly advertise their ‘entertainment services’ at the shoplots where they operate.
And because there is no age control, those most at risk of falling victims to these illegal cyber gambling dens are school children who are bored and naive.
Many believe they can walk away from gambling. Many believe that they can control themselves and see gambling as casual entertainment.
But believe me when Eye say, an addiction is an addiction, nothing less. An addict will always be deluded and be in denial, until it is too late.
There is truth in the gambling adage ‘the house always wins’.
While a gambler seems to think that he or she is winning, those who are actually making a fortune are those running the cyber gambling dens.
What a gambler wins is a mere fraction of what the operators are raking in by influencing player psychology and maximising profits.
Suffice to say, there is no boon in gambling, except for those who run the gambling dens – may it be physical or virtual.
And if this problem of cyber gambling dens is not nipped in the bud now, it will prove to be a big problem for society as a whole.
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