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newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,8662 1,00.html
SOCIAL gambling is a part of Singapore life.
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Posed picture by Jonathan Choo
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Three in five, aged 18 and above, enjoy a bet now and then.
And the thrill of weighing odds and taking a risk starts young.
Almost four in 10 of those who gamble began the habit when they were between the ages of 18 and 24. And it was usually a small bet on 4-D that got them going.
But not so for Brian, 18 (not his real name).
He's unusual in that he spends as much as $200 on a single football bet.
The top choices of Singapore punters are 4D, Toto, and Singapore Sweep. And they bet a median sum of $83 each month - less than the $103 spent on alcohol and the $109 on smoking a month. These figures come from a study released by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday.
But Brian is an odd man out. He claims he once lost $5,000 on a single match.
Is he an oddball?
Yes, some would argue. It's silly to play such high stakes at his age.
But, from the outside, Brian is the kind of student any mother would be proud of.
He aces exams in a top junior college and excels in school activities.
But there is another side to him that his parents are unaware of: He's a betting 'enthusiast', as he calls himself.
In a month-long check involving nine schools and interviews with over 50 students, The New Paper found that there are others like Brian, though their numbers are relatively small.
In colleges, these teens punt in between lessons. And about half of the bettors we encountered are girls.
Why do they do it?
To Brian, it's just a game.
'You gamble when you ask a girl out, when you 'spot' exam questions to study for or even when you ponder if you should take an umbrella when going out.'
The few young social gamblers spotted use their lunch money to root for their favourite football clubs and gamble among themselves.
A smaller number graduate to bigger stakes and even get involved with football bookies, through one or two students who have established contacts.
This person would gather the group's bets.
Such a student is likely to have a special pager from bookies which display football scores and odds, allowing the teen to check the progress of a game at any time.
After the match is over, their representative would meet the runner for the bookies to either to hand over their betting money or collect their winnings.
Sometimes, a student would give a bank account number to the runners so that winnings can be credited directly.
These untypical students said that it was at JCs that they met more friends with similar interests.
Wilson, 19, said he started betting on football matches after his O-levels.
His gambling interest peaked during the English Premier League in 2003. At first, it was just a $10 bet on a game but the stakes later went up to $50 per game.
Wilson, who is waiting for his A-level results, said: 'Most of us bet for the thrill of it. The feeling you get when you watch a match you have a stake in is just different.'
Others believe in doing their homework on the Internet before placing bets.
Jason, 19, said he and his few like-minded classmates indulge in what they call 'smart betting', which has enabled them to win more than lose, he claimed.
He claimed he had a windfall of $600 during Euro 2004, although he only staked $10 on each game.
He explained: 'We use a computer to check football websites for tips. Then we pool our bets and my friend calls a runner he knows to place the bets.'
Jason says half of the small circle of gamblers he knows at JC are girls.
Jane, 19, is one.
Both Jane and her brother, who is now in JC, bet on football matches regularly, but Jane says that she bets only small amounts under $100.
'I can't bear to part with so much money.'
The MCYS survey found that sports prompted the highest wager (median $200), compared to other forms of betting, such as overseas casino ($100) and horse racing ($100).
Unlike betting on 4-D where small bets can yield big returns if the number strikes the top three prizes, punters need to 'bet big to win big' for sports bettings.
All in the small circle of betting students that The New Paper interviewed said that they turned to bookies because Singapore Pools does not accept bets from teenagers and students in uniform.
One student, Clarence, 19, recalls that he became a bookie when he was in Sec 2 because the commission he earned was a good source of income.
He set his own rates and accepted bets only from his classmates, charging as much as $150 as commission from each person who won.
His illegal business lasted for two years until just before JC, when he realised that it was too risky to continue.
Asked if their parents knew what they were doing, most of these students shrugged this off.
Wilson said: 'If your son suddenly starts watching every football match with such an anxious look on his face, wouldn't you know that something is going on?'
Some of the student-punters claimed that their parents closed one eye, as long as they 'bet within their limits'.
Jane's mother said: 'Parents need not necessarily forbid their children to gamble if the children are sensible enough.
'They need to learn to value their money, and it's good to let them learn the lesson by themselves.'
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