Voluntary Welfare Organisations like the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society are already expecting a rise in problem gambling cases after the month-long competition ends.

"This is going to put a lot of people in trouble if they are not careful of the boundaries and how much they should gamble and when they should stop. What we foresee is that there will be a surge in the number of calls, number of cases coming in, so we are prepared," said Charles Lee, Senior Counsellor, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

Currently, Thye Hua Kwan has 15 counsellors working on problem gambling cases in its 5 Family Service Centres.

It will also convert its student care centre in Telok Blangah Rise to a Gambling Counselling Centre, which will cost $600,000 to run, and will be manned by up to 8 full-time counsellors.

Thye Hua Kwan, who is operating a gambling hotline, is also working with the Singapore Pools to warn the bettors about gambling addiction.

"Young and old, everyone they watch, as they watch, they get interested, they get involved. For those who are already involved in gambling of football, this is their best chance to win, or in fact to lose money really, but no gambler thinks they are going to lose. Everyone thinks they are smart, they calculate the odds and they gamble, but the worse thing is internet gambling because you don't know how much you really lose, you don't see the pain of losing," said Lee Kim Siang, Chairman, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.

Internet gambling aside, betting outlets like this are seeing brisk business.

When contacted, the Singapore Pools would only say its sales figures are encouraging and that the phone betting lines and counters have been very busy.

It has also introduced new betting schemes to discourage illegal gambling.

These included pre-paid phone betting cards, special bet types and extended betting that allows bets to be placed while a match is still going on.

Singapore Pools has said that soccer betting is gaining popularity but a significant amount of its revenue still comes from 4D and Toto bets.

While some might gamble in excess, others believe in moderation.

Some 50 people have signed up for the National Council on Problem Gambling's forum on Thursday which highlights the dangers of excessive soccer betting. - CNA /dt

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