For all the negative reasons I used to hear about gambling as a teen (destroys families, leads to crime, people lose control, money laundering), I was surprised to hear that Singapore was setting up some of the best largest casinos in 2010. Singapore prides itself to be a model city, and it’s Prime Minister apparently once said casinos would enter the country over his dead body!
So, what IS really wrong with gambling?
Will Governments realize it’s a another valuable source of revenue?
In countries like India, where the problem has consistently been an inability to widen the tax paying base, yet there is such a large parallel economy, is legalized gambling one way to start collecting taxes indirectly?
Are there online mechanics that can help prevent some of the traditional problems ? Imposing time- and quantity- based limits, authentication, accept payments from debit cards only unless additional identification is provided?
Will we see online gambling opening up in the country, as is anticipated in the US this year?
Would you want to see gambling becoming legalized ; why or why not?
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
mk- great post!
Politicians gable all their lives – by choosing the parties and the issues they choose to back.
I think the Singapore government has realized ( a bit too late) that the Chinese are the biggest gamblers on earth. And they were taking short flights to Macua (now the Las Vegas of the East) and blowing up decent sums of moneys there. All to the benefit of the Chinese Governments.
There is NOTHING WRONG with Gambling and its an intuitive, natural human tedency.
I guess the challenge for governments is how to TAX and monitor revenues of such institutions. You see, most moneys spent in Casinos (average TImu, Dinesh and Harish) spend CASH when they buy chips.
When you pay CASH in India, it becomes a massive headache to monitor – no banking channel can be used to monitor the pipeline.
Also, cash businesses become massive money laundering and havala businesses…so thats a negative association.
I think Gambling licenses should be auctioned – like 3G licences to corporates and then let them do what they have to – will be a HUGE MONEY SPINNER
Narendra ‘Gujurat’ Modi – are you listening??
kinnari thacker dave
fyi Alok : A proposal is already lying on Narendra Modi’s table … a Las Vegas in Gujarat, lets wait & watch 🙂