Casinos could use technology that lets gamblers set budget, tells them when to stop

SINGAPORE — Apart from increasing the casino entry levies for Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs), the authorities are also looking at implementing other measures to promote “responsible gambling”.

For instance, technology that could help casino patrons make better decisions on gambling could be used.

The integrated resorts and the Ministry of Social and Family Development are studying technologies used elsewhere.

In some overseas casinos, players can set a gambling budget and be reminded when they reach a certain proportion of their spending. Some allow players to set limits for losses and playing time.

To deter Singapore residents from casual and impulse gambling, the Government announced on Wednesday (April 3) that the daily levy for Singaporeans and PRs will be go up from S$100 to S$150, with the annual levy raised from S$2,000 to S$3,000. There will also be new restrictions for the purchase of both levies.

Counsellors dealing with gambling addicts said that using technology to monitor individuals’ gambling behaviour is worth considering, as it will alert those who “cannot exercise discipline or control” that they have spent a certain amount of time and made certain losses, and it is time for them to leave the casinos.

Pastor Billy Lee, 63, the founder and executive director of Blessed Grace Social Services, said that based on anecdotal experiences, he has gamblers telling him that “once you’re in the casino, you lose track of time, you lose track of your losses”.

His centre saw a drop in casino gamblers from 312 in 2017 to 208 last year, and he believes that the decrease is due to casinos “losing their novelty”.

“You lose track of time because there aren’t any windows in the casinos to tell you the time of day, how long you’ve been there. They can spend a day there without knowing, although they initially say they will just spend an hour,” he said.

“You lose track of losses because you don’t use money but chips.”

Having such a technology that set time and money limits might “knock gamblers out of their slumber and tell them that they have to stop”, said Pastor Lee.

Mr Samuel Ng, 53, chief executive officer of social services centre Montfort Care, also said that such technology can provide gamblers with a timely reminder “because some of them cannot exercise discipline or control”.

Apart from these measures, gaming staff members will be trained to spot persons at-risk of gambling problems and to offer help to such patrons.