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08-09-2011, 07:30 AM
The Straits Times
Sep 8, 2011
More gamblers seek help for addiction
MCYS acknowledges increase and will keep reaching out to them
By Janice Tai
The number of gamblers seeking help for their addiction has risen over the past year. And according to the counselling centres, about seven in 10 of them say the casinos at the integrated resorts are the main reason for their money woes.
A check with six of the bigger voluntary welfare organisations offering counselling to gamblers showed they have been seeing more people since Resorts World Sentosa opened in February last year, and Marina Bay Sands in April last year.
For example, a year ago, volunteer organisation One Hope Centre used to see 40 to 50 people at its weekly support sessions for gamblers. Today, it sees between 70 and 80 a week.
The Hiding Place halfway house in Jalan Kayu used to see 10 people at its weekly sessions. This has risen to 30.
We Care Community Services in Kampong Bugis used to have one 15-member support group for family members of gamblers three years ago. Today, it has three groups totalling 45 people. The surge took place after the casinos opened.
Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre is also seeing more gamblers and their relatives, but declined to give figures.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday acknowledged that more gamblers are seeking help, and said it will continue to reach out to them.
A spokesman said: 'With greater awareness and the measures in place, we expect some families and individuals seeking help to present their problem as casino gambling, even though that can represent other forms of gambling as well.'
She pointed out that 'problem gamblers gamble and incur losses across an entire range of gambling products'.
The counselling centres said the numbers, while manageable for now, are worrying. For one thing, there might not be enough qualified and accredited addiction therapists and mental health specialists to deal with the surge.
Mr Prem Kumar, programme director of We Care Community Services, said it takes time to train such professionals. 'It is not as simple as having to attend a course. They need to have certain qualifications and at least a few years of experience in addiction counselling,' he said.
Research done on addictions points to the need for gamblers - who can bet on anything from football to racehorses - to get help. A study on the different types of addictions here found that gambling addicts have a lower quality of life compared with alcoholics in terms of relationships and their level of spirituality. Drug addicts had the worst quality of life.
The study, published in July, is by the National Addictions Management Service, located at the Institute of Mental Health.
A Samaritans of Singapore report in July showed a similarly worrying trend. It said 352 people called in with loan-shark problems between April last year and March this year, up from 218 cases in the same period a year ago, and 196 called in with gambling debt issues, up from 132.
Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad said he has seen a few problem gamblers at his Meet-the-People sessions. 'They don't openly declare that they are problem gamblers but there are symptoms like credit card arrears, unsecured loans and loan-shark harassment that point to that,' he said.
Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, said the rise in the number of gamblers seeking help is due to publicity on gambling-related issues, and the work of the National Council of Problem Gambling.
NCPG, a body appointed by MCYS, oversees the administration of casino-exclusion orders and provides advice to the Government on social safeguards against gambling. Between January and June this year, the number of self-exclusion orders issued to Singaporeans and permanent residents rose from 3,500 to 5,300; exclusion orders initiated by a gambler's family doubled from 297 to 613.
On the casinos' role in the rise in gamblers, Mr Lee said: 'We can't blame the presence of the casinos. The onus is on the problem gamblers who ought to know their weaknesses and tackle them.'
Reformed gambler Bennie Tey, 39, called for a one-stop centre to treat all problems a gambler faces. He said each centre now tends to have a focus, whether in debt management, counselling or psychotherapy. 'Sometimes, what we need is a mix of all.'
jantai@sph.com.sg
---------------------------------------------------
The Straits Times
Sep 8, 2011
Frequent and heavy gambling also a concern
THE national body tasked with keeping an eye on gambling has a new target group: heavy and frequent gamblers.
The National Council on Problem Gambling's (NCPG) main focus, since its inception in 2005, has been on problem gamblers. Among other things, it decides on the applications for the exclusion of persons from the two casinos.
A spokesman said yesterday that it 'wants to expand its focus to also look at heavy and frequent gambling, which is the level before gambling becomes an addiction'.
'We want to be more pre-emptive. We will help families to look for tell-tale signs of heavy and frequent gambling, and encourage them to seek help early before gambling becomes an addiction and a serious problem.'
It is consulting agencies and counselling centres on how to provide 'a more comprehensive suite of services' to address frequent gambling and problem gambling. The public will also be consulted, and it expects to call for a tender within the next three months for more credit-cum-legal financial advisory services to help families minimise the financial problems that arise from heavy gambling and problem gambling.
In response to queries, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports noted the NCPG has been working closely with various bodies to enhance help to gamblers. There are also more community groups that do this now.
'Gambling is a continuum that ranges from social gambling to problem gambling, where gambling has become an addiction,' said an MCYS spokesman, adding that the ministry has raised awareness of problem gambling over the years, and expanded to treatment and help services for gamblers.
The ministry will conduct a gambling participation survey later this year. It conducted similar studies in 2005 and 2008, but this will be the first one since the two casinos opened last year.
Sep 8, 2011
More gamblers seek help for addiction
MCYS acknowledges increase and will keep reaching out to them
By Janice Tai
The number of gamblers seeking help for their addiction has risen over the past year. And according to the counselling centres, about seven in 10 of them say the casinos at the integrated resorts are the main reason for their money woes.
A check with six of the bigger voluntary welfare organisations offering counselling to gamblers showed they have been seeing more people since Resorts World Sentosa opened in February last year, and Marina Bay Sands in April last year.
For example, a year ago, volunteer organisation One Hope Centre used to see 40 to 50 people at its weekly support sessions for gamblers. Today, it sees between 70 and 80 a week.
The Hiding Place halfway house in Jalan Kayu used to see 10 people at its weekly sessions. This has risen to 30.
We Care Community Services in Kampong Bugis used to have one 15-member support group for family members of gamblers three years ago. Today, it has three groups totalling 45 people. The surge took place after the casinos opened.
Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre is also seeing more gamblers and their relatives, but declined to give figures.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday acknowledged that more gamblers are seeking help, and said it will continue to reach out to them.
A spokesman said: 'With greater awareness and the measures in place, we expect some families and individuals seeking help to present their problem as casino gambling, even though that can represent other forms of gambling as well.'
She pointed out that 'problem gamblers gamble and incur losses across an entire range of gambling products'.
The counselling centres said the numbers, while manageable for now, are worrying. For one thing, there might not be enough qualified and accredited addiction therapists and mental health specialists to deal with the surge.
Mr Prem Kumar, programme director of We Care Community Services, said it takes time to train such professionals. 'It is not as simple as having to attend a course. They need to have certain qualifications and at least a few years of experience in addiction counselling,' he said.
Research done on addictions points to the need for gamblers - who can bet on anything from football to racehorses - to get help. A study on the different types of addictions here found that gambling addicts have a lower quality of life compared with alcoholics in terms of relationships and their level of spirituality. Drug addicts had the worst quality of life.
The study, published in July, is by the National Addictions Management Service, located at the Institute of Mental Health.
A Samaritans of Singapore report in July showed a similarly worrying trend. It said 352 people called in with loan-shark problems between April last year and March this year, up from 218 cases in the same period a year ago, and 196 called in with gambling debt issues, up from 132.
Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad said he has seen a few problem gamblers at his Meet-the-People sessions. 'They don't openly declare that they are problem gamblers but there are symptoms like credit card arrears, unsecured loans and loan-shark harassment that point to that,' he said.
Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, said the rise in the number of gamblers seeking help is due to publicity on gambling-related issues, and the work of the National Council of Problem Gambling.
NCPG, a body appointed by MCYS, oversees the administration of casino-exclusion orders and provides advice to the Government on social safeguards against gambling. Between January and June this year, the number of self-exclusion orders issued to Singaporeans and permanent residents rose from 3,500 to 5,300; exclusion orders initiated by a gambler's family doubled from 297 to 613.
On the casinos' role in the rise in gamblers, Mr Lee said: 'We can't blame the presence of the casinos. The onus is on the problem gamblers who ought to know their weaknesses and tackle them.'
Reformed gambler Bennie Tey, 39, called for a one-stop centre to treat all problems a gambler faces. He said each centre now tends to have a focus, whether in debt management, counselling or psychotherapy. 'Sometimes, what we need is a mix of all.'
jantai@sph.com.sg
---------------------------------------------------
The Straits Times
Sep 8, 2011
Frequent and heavy gambling also a concern
THE national body tasked with keeping an eye on gambling has a new target group: heavy and frequent gamblers.
The National Council on Problem Gambling's (NCPG) main focus, since its inception in 2005, has been on problem gamblers. Among other things, it decides on the applications for the exclusion of persons from the two casinos.
A spokesman said yesterday that it 'wants to expand its focus to also look at heavy and frequent gambling, which is the level before gambling becomes an addiction'.
'We want to be more pre-emptive. We will help families to look for tell-tale signs of heavy and frequent gambling, and encourage them to seek help early before gambling becomes an addiction and a serious problem.'
It is consulting agencies and counselling centres on how to provide 'a more comprehensive suite of services' to address frequent gambling and problem gambling. The public will also be consulted, and it expects to call for a tender within the next three months for more credit-cum-legal financial advisory services to help families minimise the financial problems that arise from heavy gambling and problem gambling.
In response to queries, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports noted the NCPG has been working closely with various bodies to enhance help to gamblers. There are also more community groups that do this now.
'Gambling is a continuum that ranges from social gambling to problem gambling, where gambling has become an addiction,' said an MCYS spokesman, adding that the ministry has raised awareness of problem gambling over the years, and expanded to treatment and help services for gamblers.
The ministry will conduct a gambling participation survey later this year. It conducted similar studies in 2005 and 2008, but this will be the first one since the two casinos opened last year.
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