Integrated Resorts

Whether or not to open a casino in Singapore has been a hot topic for the past few years, and since then, we have seen even the highest level of the government step out and announce their decision. However, given that Singapore’s only resource is manpower, and with the social and personal impacts of opening a casino, I feel that although it brings in extra revenue that is good for the overall economy of the country, the social repercussions are too great and they offset the economical benefits. Therefore, since the decision is to go ahead with a casino, we must find solutions to lessen the impact on Singaporean’s lives.

Firstly, despite the obvious economical gains, there are serious social repercussions that come about with the building of a casino. Most obviously, having a casino and allowing locals to gamble means that more people will gamble and lose their money. All we all know, since money, or rather the lack of money, is the root of all evil, this brings about problems such as loan sharks lending money illegally, which can be linked to all sorts of crime ranging from robberies to blackmailing and even to murder, which will, without doubt, affect the socio-economical balance of the society in a magnitude that will definitely surpass the economical gains of having a casino.

Although measures such as restrictions and counseling have been taken into place, I highly doubt that these measures are extreme enough to stop hardcore gambling addicts from gambling and losing their money and lives. After all, the government does need to use the casino as a means of making money, so if they crack down too tough on locals, who will be there to supply revenue? Therefore, with this reasoning, there is reason to believe that gambling addicts will be unable to stop their habits no matter the entry fee or any other slight limitations, be it by gambling via a proxy or even going into the casino under a different identity.

Furthermore, as we can see from Las Vegas as an example, even the tightest security systems cannot stop crimes targeting the casinos. The debts that many people will come to owe the casinos are good motives for people to attempt to blow the casinos up or to blackmail them. This will cause further chaos to the downtown area as well as the social stability of Singapore as a whole, and when the society reaches such a state, we all know that it is irreparable. As a cause of that happening, Singapore will degrade from an example of a state excellent in security and living standards to becoming a state which to learn not to make mistakes from, which further decreases revenue from tourism and investment.

Therefore, I would propose that harsher limitations and penalties be imposed on those who are positively identified as gambling addicts and those who are in great risks of being one. By imposing regulations such as entry age, raising the entry fee, and black-spotting those who have a criminal record or a record of creating trouble in casinos, then we can ensure that those who gamble merely do so as a means of relaxation, not as an addiction that can never be stopped.