A 2020 survey from Singapore’s National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) reveals that fewer people gambled during the year and those who participated gambled less. However, the number of pathological and problem gamblers remained consistent.
The survey of 3,000 Singaporeans, conducted every three years, was released July 29. It assessed gambling frequency, spend and impact as well the demographic makeup of gamblers. It showed that 44 percent of respondents 18 and over reported gambling in 2019, down from 52 percent in 2017, a number considered statistically significant. Average monthly spend decreased from SG$30 (US$22) in 2017 to SG$15. Eighty-nine percent of gamblers spent less than SG$100 per month.
According to Asia Gaming Brief, the survey only asked respondents about their gambling habits before Covid-19. Even so, the survey noted, “restrictions on gambling activities during the period of survey may still have affected responses. This may partly explain the lower reported gambling participation rate of 44 percent for the 2020 survey.”
Most popular forms of gambling were the 4D lottery (42 percent of respondents) and TOTO (36 percent). Another 21 percent said they participated in social gambling. Only 1 percent said they played table games and 1 percent slot machines in Singapore’s casinos, the same rate as in the 2017 survey.
The 2020 survey found that between 0.02 percent and 0.4 percent of respondents may be classified as probable pathological gamblers, marginally up since 2017.
In other Singapore news, the Ministry of Health recently linked five new cases of Covid-19 to the casino at the Marina Bay Sands, a Las Vegas Sands property. Counting the new cases, a total of 46 Covid-19 cases have been traced to the casino.
