Online Casino - Our View On Society's View On Casino Gambling
Recently in the Singapore News, there was an article written about a controversial article from the editor of a major Singaporean online casino magazine, available here in English, which received widespread criticism from various online gambling enthusiasts and politicians in the country. The article, titled "Is Online Casinos Socializing Singaporeans?" was written by Mr Ong Krit Untiring, who is the chief executive officer of the Singapore-based gaming website Cybercafe. His piece has triggered off a fierce debate in the online gambling community, with many Singaporeans expressing both support and disapproval of the writer's views on online casino gambling in Singapore.
In this article, Mr Ong Krit outlines how the government plans to address the increasing number of online casinos in the country. He argues that it is important for online casinos to adopt a public good attitude, as other online entrepreneurs would also do if they were to set up a casino in the country. A public policy that encourages innovation in online gaming in Singapore and promotes online casinos as profitable businesses will ensure that these enterprises will continue to expand in the future, he contends. And it is through such public policies that the government can promote online casino gambling in the country and create more jobs for Singaporean citizens.
What are some of the concerns raised in the article? The main one is that Mr Ong misrepresented statistics regarding the amount of revenue that online casinos make annually. In fact, he understated the revenue figure by almost tenfold, claiming that over $1 billion is generated in a year by online casinos in Singapore. However, research carried out by independent researchers indicates that the actual revenue figure is significantly lower than this, at around a hundred and forty million dollars per year. Mr Ong has since corrected this error, but the damage had already been done, as many Singaporeans have expressed their opinions regarding online casinos in Singapore in forums and discussion threads on the Internet.
Another thing that worries Singaporeans is the effect that online casinos could have on the country's youth. Mr Ong has acknowledged the concerns that are being raised by these groups and has promised to take measures that will ensure the protection of the young generation from online gambling. Will Mr Ong be able to keep his promise? It is clear that some restrictions will have to be introduced to online casinos, as well as other gambling and online business in the country. But will Mr Ong and the government be able to protect the interests of the people, or will they cave in to pressure from the opposition parties?
What about online gambling laws in other countries around the world? The United States has a very lax law when it comes to online casinos, which allows virtually anyone to set them up. There are very few regulation standards in the UK, and similar circumstances exist with many other countries, including Ireland and Italy. In other words, there is no consistency in online casino regulation all around the world. This makes it extremely easy for online gamblers to open an online casino and run a successful one, and very hard for the governments to keep a close watch on them.
The fact that the law surrounding online casinos remains unclear makes it very difficult for the government to regulate them. However, it does mean that potential customers should take care to investigate how reliable a particular online casino is before placing their bets. When you take this approach, you can be fairly certain that your view of the online casino's safety is fairly balanced and one that give you a good degree of peace of mind.
