went to ntuc to place bets.
saw an old man arguing with the ntuc lady about his tickets. he wanted to place bets for today but made a mistake and wagered next sunday's. the lady told him that refund is not possible. i bought the ticket from him, it was only $18.
obviously the lady didnt want to help him.
extracted from ST forums.
Jackpot machines in NTUC, clubs are a bottomless pit . What's there to help addicts?
I refer to the letter 'Gambling in heartland cause for concern' by Mr Mike Wong (ST Nov 5). I agree with his views and share his concerns.
Indeed, gambling has been around for such a long time that we do not care when it was first legalised. Nor do we bother what needs to be done to contain this indulgence. Why does the government get so excited now even before the first stone of the Integrated Resort is laid?
Another bottomless pit that has drained much of the people's reserves are the jackpot machines. It is legalised gambling and most of the players will roll until their last dollar is gone.
Some clubs even offer NETS service to buy coins at their cashier's counter. The clubs' objectives are the same - entice people to play a machine that notably has the odds stacked very much against them.
In fact, all the clubs have openly admitted that jackpot machines are their biggest source of revenue.
While country clubs may be located in remote places and are accessible to members only, the NTUC clubs are situated in business districts, holiday resorts and HDB heartlands.
One only needs to pay a visit to any of the clubs to experience the hustle and bustle of a casino. But unlike casinos that offer 5 cents or even 1 cent per game, our machines are 20 cents, 50 cents, or even $1. A stake of $2.50 to $5 for a five-seconds spin is typical. Retirees, housewives and workers are frequent visitors.
To them, the proposed Integrated Resort is a non-event. At the clubs, the opening hours are long, particularly on weekends. Many clubs do not even bother to check whether you are a member.
Some retirees confessed that they had already passed on all their CPF withdrawals to the clubs and housewives have claimed that they had 'invested' a condominium or even a bungalow in the machines.
Much has been said but what has been done to check the gambling habits of our citizens and the social ills that are associated with a gambling house, as far as the jackpot is concerned?
Have we ever considered the plight of families with jackpot addicts? Where is the big debate? Where is the exclusion order?
Daniel Chan Wai Piew
i have seen and heard of retirees losing all their money to jackpots.
they started playing small for fun, then they get hooked. eventually it turned into a full-time disaster, losing every dollar they had.
they can still be found standing behind watching people 'playing'. they will slot one or two coins intermittently.
wonder what crosses their mind.
if only......
i have had a short stint myself, losing $2000 in 2-3 days. luckily i came to my senses and stopped completely.