• A survey that covered 2019 and 2020 found that fewer people took part in at least one form of gambling activity than in 2017
• Median monthly betting amounts also fell, from S$30 in 2017 to S$15 last year
• The survey uncovered a slight increase in the proportion of probable hardcore and problem gamblers
• Problem gambling remains a concern, the National Council on Problem Gambling said

SINGAPORE — A national survey has found that fewer Singapore residents gambled in 2019 and last year, compared with the last time the survey was conducted in 2017. Those who did gamble bet smaller amounts than before, likely due in part to the economic impact of Covid-19. 

However, problem gambling remains a concern, especially with a rise in new gambling products and trends, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) said. 

NCPG, which did the survey, assessed problem gambling using a nine-point diagnostic criteria. These included whether a person felt a need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve their desired excitement, had experienced unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop gambling, and felt restless and irritable when trying to cut down or stop gambling.

It polled 3,000 Singapore residents aged 18 and above between February and December last year about gambling participation. Of these, 44 per cent said that they had taken part in at least one form of gambling, down from 52 per cent in the last survey done in 2017.

When the survey was launched, respondents were asked about their gambling habits in the previous 12 months. 

Then, when strict safe distancing rules were in place due to Covid-19, NCPG adjusted the survey midway in June last year, to ask respondents about their gambling behaviour in 2019, instead of the previous 12 months, to minimise the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on the findings.

Overall, the survey saw drops in the participation rates of all four of the most popular types of gambling here – 4D lottery, Toto lottery, the Singapore Sweep draw and social gambling, which includes games such as mahjong.

Median monthly betting amounts also fell from S$30 in the 2017 survey to S$15 in last year’s survey, with the majority of gamblers (89 per cent) betting S$100 or less a month. 

A very small percentage (0.3 per cent) of those surveyed gambled with large amounts exceeding S$1,000.

NCPG said that the restrictions on gambling activities during the period of survey may have affected responses, partly accounting for the lower reported gambling participating rate of 44 per cent and decline in wagers.

The council's chairman Tan Kian Hoon said that the drop in gambling rates could also be the result of more gambling social safeguards that have been introduced in recent years.

These included the raising of casino levies by 50 per cent in April 2019 and tighter regulations for private clubs with jackpot machines. 

Mr Tan added that a greater awareness of NCPG’s public education efforts might have contributed to the decline, too.

Counsellors who work with problem gamblers said that the survey’s finding on gamblers placing smaller bets in the last two years could be a reflection of the poor economic outlook brought about by the Covid-19 crisis, during which people became more reserved in their spending. 

They also noted that the drop in gambling participation rates could also be because many gambling products have evolved and are presented as games of chance, so their users might not even realise that the activity in which they are engaging is a form of gambling.

HARDCORE GAMBLERS

The survey showed a marginal uptick in the proportion of respondents who are likely hardcore or pathological gamblers, those with the most severe form of the addiction. They constituted 0.2 per cent of the respondents in the latest survey, up from 0.1 per cent in the 2017 survey. 

Together with those identified as likely to be problem gamblers — a separate group that is considered to have a less serious form of gambling disorder — they made up 1.2 per cent of the respondents, up slightly from THE 0.9 per cent in the 2017 survey and the 0.7 per cent in the 2014 survey.

The median monthly wagers among them grew as well, from S$89 in 2017 to S$100 in 2020.

NCPG said that the differences are not statistically significant, but it noted that problem gambling remains a concern, as the negative consequences affect not just the gamblers but their families as well. 

Another finding was that there were jumps in the proportion of gamblers reporting poor self-control when playing table games on cruises (from 2.9 per cent in 2017 to 23.4 per cent in 2020) or while sports betting (from 9.1 per cent in 2017 to 23.4 per cent in 2020).

Among those who gamble online, there was also a drop in self-control, with 12.2 per cent saying that they exhibited poor self-control while gambling online last year, compared with 7.1 per cent in 2017.

The survey, however, found no major changes in the profile of gamblers — about 49 per cent stated that they had started to gamble regularly before they turned 30 years old, similar to what was reported in 2017.

Relatively higher gambling participation rates were found among the Chinese and men, with 53 per cent of each group stating that they gamble. Only 5 per cent of the Malay respondents and 27 per cent of the Indian respondents said that they gamble. 

'CHANCE' GAMES AND NEW FORMS OF GAMBLING

Ms Joey Tan, the centre manager for Arise2Care, a community agency that provides support for gamblers who would like to kick their addiction, said that the survey likely did not pick up people’s participation in very new forms of gambling. 

“(There are) mobile applications and games that have been created, which include an element of chance, and these are most likely unaccounted for in this survey.”

The number of clients at Arise2Care, whose gambling activities include illegal online gambling, is on the rise, Ms Tan added.

Dr Thomas Lee, a consultant psychiatrist at The Resilienz Clinic, NCPG’s appointed agency for counselling of gambling addiction cases, noted the emergence of online and arcade games containing elements of gambling but these are disguised as “innocent games”.

“Unknowingly, (players) may develop a gambling habit, which can then make them vulnerable to developing gambling problems in the future,” he said.

Indeed, the authorities said earlier this month that mystery boxes, claw machines and online loot boxes could soon come under government regulation.

On July 12, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it will be amending the gambling legislation later this year to ensure that laws and regulations remain effective in the face of evolving gambling products and business models.

Recognising that the gambling landscape is rapidly evolving, especially during the pandemic, Mr Tan of NCPG said that the council will be stepping up its public education efforts to mitigate the risks of online gambling and gambling risks in electronic games.

Dr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, said that the Government regularly reviews its regulatory framework and social safeguards across all gambling products to ensure that they remain relevant in addressing new gambling products and trends. 

“Amid emerging gambling products and risks, we must and will continue to protect individuals and their families from the harms of problem gambling — especially those who are more vulnerable,” he added. 

“Families and the community continue to play an important role, including encouraging those affected by problem gambling to seek help early.” 

The survey has been conducted once every three years since 2005, and this latest round is the sixth to be done by NCPG, a body set up to provide advice and feedback to the Ministry of Social and Family Development on social concerns related to problems arising from gambling.

The survey’s response rate took a hit last year, dropping from 77 per cent in 2017 to 62 per cent, because some face-to-face interviews could not take place. Close to one in five of the respondents had to complete their survey through video conferencing.

Given the circumstances, the number of help-seeking calls and webchat enquiries to the National Problem Gambling Helpline fell from 14,907 in 2019 to only 10,041 last year, NCPG said. In 2018, it dealt with 16,579 calls and webchats.