Currently, there has no doubt been numerous discussions on the construction of the Integrated Resorts (IR) in Singapore after it had been given the green light. For the past decade, Singapore has been very conservative with issues such as gambling. The IRs that are to be constructed will feature casinos, which sparked of the great debate on whether Singapore should allow the construction of such an Integrated Resort.
As PM Lee Hsien Loong put it, the government has already thought through extremely thoroughly and has examined both the pros and cons, and after great consideration, they decided to give it a go as the benefits that an IR would bring far outweigh the negative consequences. The IR would surely help boost the economy of Singapore, especially crucial in such time of economic downturn, and this would also be beneficial to the tourism industry in Singapore – with the Integrated Resorts and the attractive casinos, it is no doubt that more tourists would be attracted to visit Singapore.
However, as there are always two sides to a coin and the drawbacks of such a proposal cannot be overlooked. To begin with, many have expressed concerns regarding the casinos. Many, including Senior Minister Goh who is personally against the idea, are afraid that come the construction of the IR and hence casinos, Singaporeans could get hooked to gambling and this could become a serious problem. Take this scenario - Singaporeans who go there to gamble lose money, resulting in them wanting to gamble even more in hopes of recuperating the losses. They lose even more until they realize that they are completely broke. So what happens to their financial situation? They now have no choice but to turn to crime and unscrupulous means such as loan sharks to get their cash. As we can all see, this problem of gambling addiction is one that is extremely severe and cannot be looked upon lightly.
So, since the decision has already made, how do we circumvent the aforementioned problems from arising becomes the main question. I believe that the most important yet practical solution is education. Youth especially have to be educated from young and inculcated with the correct values to prevent them from going astray. Also, the government and other welfare groups should also hold more “no gambling” campaigns to let Singaporeans learn of the negative effects of gambling addiction, raising awareness in them on such an issue. This would no doubt reduce the possibility of problems arising due to the casinos in the IRs after they are constructed.
In conclusion, the possible scenarios of citiznes turning into addicts have to be addressed for any country wishing to construct a casino. In Singapore's case, both the citizens and government will have to work together towards maintaining the Singapore we have today.
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