Online Betting Lottery Companies

Question: Discuss about the Online Bettingfor Lottery Companies. Answer: Introduction Online betting is whereby people use the internet as a platform to gamble. Many governments in countries across the globe have allowed different lottery companies to offer online gambling to their citizens. It is an activity that has been there since the 90s. It has been improving with the advancement in the level of technology. Different laws have been formulated to make the business transparent enough to everyone participating in the business (Wardle, 2007). Many websites now offer online gambling after having gained so much awareness in people. The revenues collected from the lottery companies from the business were overwhelming. By the year 2001, the number of individuals who had participated in the online business had increased to eight million. According to statistics, the industry is expected to collect more than fifty-five billion regarding revenue by 2018 (Forrest and Simmons, 2003). Betting is now considered as one of the most popular businesses on the internet platform. There are various forms of betting offered on the web. They include poker games, online casinos, sports betting, and the bingo. In Singapore, the parliament drafted a bill that could counter-measure against online betting in 2014. Gambling was legal in the country. Recently the government has allowed two operators to offer online betting to its citizens. I am more concerned with the online betting issues associated with this type of gambling. Many economic and social problems are associated with online gambling. The challenges that result from the business have created many challenging situations in many countries across the world. Many people have argued that the business is the cheapest to establish for it needs minimal investments. It is a platform that has created jobs for many people who are employed to manage and implement the policies set by the lottery firms in the country. Many lives have been improved by this business as people win and better their standards of living. People express the idea that they have the right to spend their money the way they want for it is allowed in the country (Siyuan, 2011). Furthermore, there are no ultimate moral standards by which the activities of human beings are calculated. In my opinion, I do not find these arguments qualified to allow online betting become a legit business in Singapore. The negative issues behind internet gambling are based on the evidence that it is an addictive activity. It has been discovered that the activity interferes with the psychological state of a person as well as the physiological wellbeing of a person. Some people become compulsive gamblers due to engaging in the business of betting. The idea of winning money has gotten into the peoples` minds and corrupted them to do whatever it takes for them to gamble (Winslow, Cheok and Subramaniam, 2015). It is one of the businesses that require little investments, and one can rip much profit from it. Many studies that have been conducted confirm that people who gamble are compelled to do so. It is everyone`s responsibility to care for other people. Thus individuals should preserve a moral code to their endeavors. For instance, when a family member who is the bread winner of the household engages in online betting, the consequences don not meet him alone, but they have an effect on the entire family. Many people have found their lives to be devastating due the consequences brought about by internet gambling. Coming up with the money to gamble has always been the issue for both the employed and the unemployed individuals. Most people do not have the extra cash to apply in the betting forums hence end up using the funds meant to facilitate significant events in their lives (Lee, Guo, Manning, Thane and Wong, 2011). Gambling has adversely affected employments in people as many have lost their jobs to online betting while others have degraded their quality of life as well as damaging their family relationships. Marriages have been broken by the gambling when individuals have lost to the business. When a partner loses the mental or the physical health, it becomes unbearable for the other one to cope with life because the partnership is terminated in some way (McMillen, 2000). It is not appropriate to make one undergo a challenge alone. The studies made have proved that in every individual that engages in the gambling business, other ten people suffer directly from the decision. They could be family members, colleagues at the workplace or the friends. The financial costs associated with online betting are unbearable. It involves adding expenses to the primary spending of an individual. Many people in online gambling end up participating in the illegal activities to sustain their business because they incur massive debts (Anderson, Blackshaw, Siekmann, and Soek, 2012). In other scenarios, families often remortgage their houses to meet the debts that they owe to financial institutions. The children in many homes become victims when marriages break as a result of this business. They are affected emotionally and lose the personal touch of the parent who is responsible for the break of the home. People have been given the freedom to participate in what they feel is right according to them. It is no one`s business to interfere with what others are doing if they are not affected. The notion that the internet is not a good idea and a harmful venture have made people be confused on whether to support the government's decisions or not (Wood, 2009). Many people enjoy online betting and engage in it as a recreational activity. They have total control over it because they understand the limits to which they can extend their betting. Some researchers do not agree that online betting is immoral (McMillen, 2000). Betting has now become an activity that cannot be avoided in people but should be controlled to maintain positive outcomes (Winslow, Cheok and Subramaniam, 2015). All those that participate in the gambling are always aware that they are engaging in a risk thus anything that happens is not anticipated but expected. Provided that one can afford it, I do not find online gambling to be such an issue to the society. On the other hand, when risks occur and affect the gambler and those close to him makes me worry. With all the economic gains that country will achieve from the online betting, I still do not agree with the decision that the government made in allowing those two lottery firms to conduct operations in the country. References Anderson, P. M., Blackshaw, I. S., Siekmann, R. C., Soek, J. (Eds.). (2012). Sports betting: law and policy. TMC Asser Press. Forrest, D., Simmons, R. (2003). Sport and gambling. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 19(4), 598-611. Lee, K. M., Guo, S., Manning, V., Thane, K., Wong, K. E. (2011). Are the demographic and clinical features of pathological gamblers seeking treatment in Singapore changing? Singapore medical journal, 52(6), 428-431. McMillen, J. (2000). Online gambling: Challenges to national sovereignty and regulation. Prometheus, 18(4), 391-401. Siyuan, C. (2011). The Unresolved Legality of Online Gambling in Singapore. Sing. L. Rev., 29, 53. Wardle, H. (2007). British gambling prevalence survey 2007. The Stationery Office. Winslow, M., Cheok, C., Subramaniam, M. (2015). Gambling in Singapore: An overview of history, research, treatment and policy. Addiction, 110(9), 1383-1387. Wood, R. T. (2009). Internet gambling: Prevalence, patterns, problems, and policy options (Doctoral dissertation, University of Lethbridge).