Social - Economic - and Environmental Impacts

Question: Discuss about the Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts. Answer: Introduction: Betting or Gambling has been defined as gaming or participation of individuals on the larger scale to become a part of a lottery. It has in return has also been described as playing a game of getting an opportunity for earning money or getting something equals to the worth of money. A game of opportunity comprises of both fames of luck and of mixed opportunities and skills. So, in this essay the issues which government faces due to online gambling and betting would be discussed with certain points in favor of doing such acts and some points for imposing ban on such acts would be discussed (Zaccheus, 2016). In Singapore, such kinds of acts i.e. of gambling and betting have been observed to take place at a higher scale. So, the Remote Gambling Act was passed in 2014 in order to strictly regulate the numerous number of online gambling in the state. The Act would outlaw the remote which was granted by the non-exempt operators. Betting was prohibited as it has been regarded as an offence to gamble or do online betting by making use of remote communication or gambling services. The penalty which would be imposed upon the person who would be found doing or indulging in such act was a fine not exceeding S$5,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months or both. The modern online betting industry presently grants distinguished good contents and contains service clients but still it impact vastly upon the people living therein. There have been a number of issues which the government faces due to the act of online betting. A number of studies have made use of the monetary concept of price to impartially measure and examine social influence phenomena; as a result the word social price has turn out to be the dominant intermediate to recognize the power and length of social effects. Although, it was observed that the social worth of gambling in the state has risen at a rapid pace. This industry has characteristically impacted both the positive and the negative effects towards the local society and the lifestyle of the citizens (Wu Chen, 2015). The establishment and the budding up of this industry was boosted by majority of people in the state which led to the positive impact on their society and also it has no direct association with an increase criminal activities. The economic impact of online betting could be that opening up of casino or online gambling could bring large tax revenues for the governments which would undeniably regarded as the best economic advantage that this industry could contribute. Online betting could promote local economic growths and bring more helpful chances to profitable activities. Apart from direct financial advantages, the organization of casinos for gambling could also improve chances which were linked with entertaining, free time, and amusement actions within these areas (Chan, 2014). Apart from these issues such acts also have certain environmental effects also. As casino trades produce positive restricted ecological conclusions, such as the defense of natural environments and ecological resources, the conservation of historical infrastructures and many more. Regarding the negative environmental effects of casino gambling, there have been a number of aspects which were more often than not mentioned by people such as traffic jams, parking complexity, growth of trash, soil erosion, poor air quality, and many more (Channel News Asia, 2016). But it was in the year 2016, when it was confirmed by the Minister for Social and Family Development in 2016 that it would permit two local lottery operatives to propose betting grants a regulated and secured stage for gamblers. It was confirmed when National Council of Churches Singapore (NCCS) raised its issue over the past verdict for permitting Singapore Pools and Turf Club to propose bets online (The Cabin Singapore, 2017). It stated that the move sent "perplexing and contradictory signals" which provided that the Remote Gambling Act have prohibited all other forms of online betting. On this point it was stated that the Government contributes the issues of anti-gambling and religious groups over the issue of betting. But in spite of the innovative laws which were made against unlawful online betting, "individuals would not totally eliminate the difficulty", by stating that "it was there and it was developing" (Straits Times, 2016). But it was stated by the government to both the operators that it could close down websites, but new websites would be outlined, sometimes faster than the government could close them down. "It has been a global market with a lot of money to be made, and the worst thing is that it is unregulated and there are no safety measures in place." Therefore, it was stated that people would continue to be strained to these websites so it was decided to have "a firmly forbidden outlet" through which the Government which could moderate any issues, and thwart it from developing more than it should (Morgan, 2014). The government stated that people who want to speculate online on the lawful platforms must be at least 21 years old, and would have to set day by day betting restrictions. They would also not be able to place bets on credit. An obtainable barring regime, which permits families to restrict their relatives from casinos, would also be in place for online betting. Mr Tan, who was the minister, stated that he was expectant by the instances of Hong Kong and Norway which also permits a small number of lawful online betting operators. As it was found out in that case that it has not worsened the circumstance at all as Singapore rules were even stricter (Straits Times, 2016). It was also confirmed by the Minister that, "If people don't have this ecology, what it means was that those who look for in order to evade subsisting restrictions that were in place would then operate in a place that was completely tolerant. So it could be concluded that it was actually an amalgamation of these events that people think would be one manner to deal with the possible mounting issue. Online gambling if done as it was done by the two operators by limiting the per day limit of gambling by legal means could be acceptable only for the required games which were allowed by the government. As people were also interested in such games. In this case wherein two operators were allowed NCCS stated that it has taken immense care for promoting betting positively as Council aims to initiate its own events to tackle issues relating to gambling. This includes making a task force to discover manners to mitigate the detrimental impacts of betting, mainly the excitement of online betting; publishing a follow up on betting that could be placed in the hands of every church person; and monitor such acts with providing a feedback to the Government (Straits Times, 2016). The council also stated that as a result of this online betting could be regarded as a legal act. References Chan, Y.L. (2014). Remote Gambling Act how it will affect online gambling in Singapore. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://singaporelegaladvice.com/remote-gambling-act-will-affect-online-gambling-singapore/ Channel News Asia. (2016). Online gambling decision a 'judgment call' by Govt: National Council of Churches. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/online-gambling-decision-a-judgment-call-by-govt-national/3220624.html Morgan, M.K. (2014). Singapore Cracks Down On Online Gambling. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://www.skrine.com/publications/legal-insights/660-singapore-cracks-down-on-online-gambling- Straits Times. (2016). Govt's decision on online betting a 'judgment call'. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/govts-decision-on-online-betting-a-judgment-call Straits Times. (2016). Heated exchange on bid to allow limited online gambling. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/heated-exchange-on-bid-to-allow-limited-online-gambling The Cabin Singapore. (2017). Online Betting in Singapore: What it Means for Gambling Addiction. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://www.thecabinsingapore.com.sg/online-gambling-in-singapore/ Wu, S.T. Chen, Y.S. (2015). The social, economic, and environmental impacts of casino gambling on the residents of Macau and Singapore. Tourism Management,Vol. 48, pp. 285298 Zaccheus, M. (2016). Government decision to allow online betting 'a judgement call': National Council of Churches of Singapore. Retrieved on 20th March 2017 from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/govt-decision-to-allow-online-betting-a-judgement-call-national-council-of-churches-of