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SINGAPORE: More people are falling into bad debt as a result of gambling, and experts say given the current economic crunch, such cases may rise.
Out of the cases seen at the Credit Counselling Singapore, 27.8 per cent are due to gambling, and this figure has already surpassed last year's number of 23.9 per cent.
President of Credit Counselling Singapore, Kuo How Nam, said, "The last few years have been quite difficult for the lower income groups. Wages have stagnated and on top of that, they have been hit by inflation.
“So that could probably explain why people turn to gambling as a quick fix, hoping to get that lucky break that will change their fortune."
He says there is also a higher chance of bad debt as people take out lines of credit to chase their losses.
There are some one million credit card holders in Singapore in June 2008.
Of these, nearly four in 10 roll over their credit payment, meaning they pay a minimum amount of their outstanding bill each month.
This group is known as credit card revolvers.
Kuo said, "I see it coming back again. It was 35, now it's climbing back to 40 per cent so it could indicate increasing difficulty of Singaporeans in their consumption habits."
Since the market turmoil gripped the financial world, bankruptcy petitions have also gone up.
Statistics from the Law Ministry put the numbers at 290 in September, up from 240 in August.
Bankruptcy petition numbers have hovered between 200 to 300 in 2008, with the peak in July at 300 cases. But Credit Counselling Singapore says the numbers can rise further over the next few months, as the impact of the financial crisis hits closer to home. Job losses, it notes, will be a trigger point.
In fact, bankruptcy petitions hit a high at more than 5,400, during the SARS crisis in 2003.
Channel NewsAsia spoke to an ex-gambler, Tan, who got burnt playing the stock markets and hitting the jackpots. The former technician says his debt had snowballed to more than S$160,000.
He had seven creditors chasing him and he borrowed more from banks to finance his gambling habit.
But after seeing how his gambling affected his young son and wife, Tan approached Credit Counselling Singapore three years ago for help.
Tan said, "Whenever you hit the jackpot, you feel very good… because people will go around you and say today is your day and you're very lucky."
And he says there is danger in viewing some form of gambling as purely leisure activities.
A survey by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has shown more Singaporeans consider 4D, TOTO, Singapore Sweep and social gambling like mahjong as recreational forms of gambling.
For example, of the 2,300 people polled, nearly four in 10 considered playing 4D as a leisure activity in 2005. In 2008, that number shot up to almost six in 10.
Tan said, "I've stopped playing mahjong for a very long time but yes, if you don't control your stakes, it can be quite devastating to the family."
Three years on, Tan says he has only about 15 per cent left of his debts to pay off, thanks to prudent spending and a debt management programme by Credit Counselling Singapore.
- CNA/yt
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