Civic groups and social workers alarmed by the rising number of gambling addicts here told a public forum on the controversial project that potential revenues from tourism cannot outweigh the negative impact of casinos.

Tan Thuan Seng, president of the social group Focus on the Family Singapore, said the island republic was founded on "solid moral principles" and casinos "will degrade the quality of our society."

"Families are already threatened by excessive gambling opportunities in Singapore and we passionately urge our legislators to draw a line against legalizing casinos, electronic gaming machines and Internet gambling," he said.

Gerard Ee, president of the National Council of Social Service, questioned the idea of combining family entertainment with a casino, saying it would make gambling a socially acceptable activity.

State-linked lottery, sports betting and horse racing activities are already operating under tight regulations in Singapore.

Opponents said these already cause serious social problems, and casinos would spawn more "pathological and problem gamblers" than society can handle.

Singaporean casino players currently have to travel to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Macau or Cambodia, or as far as the US, Australia and Europe, to satisfy their itch. Some take trips on ships that offer gambling once they leave Singapore waters, a pastime known as "cruises to nowhere."

Ronald Tan, an international consultant on gaming and related industries, dismissed the arguments against a casino and said steps can be taken to curb problem gambling, including membership-based playing and credit checks.

"We are already a gambling nation," said Tan, who suggested that Singapore could even set up a clinic for gambling addicts which could cater to the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Associate Professor Winston Koh, an economist from the Singapore Management University, said a casino resort could add one to two percent to Singapore's gross domestic product and stem the "leakage" of money to foreign casinos.

Singaporeans wagered some S$6 billion (US$3.6 billion) in 2002 on legal gambling activities, and another four billion dollars was believed spent on overseas casinos and underground betting, Koh said.

But Koh said estimates of potential added revenues could be "overly optimistic" because a casino may just substitute for other forms of gambling.

There have been proposals to minimize the negative impact of a casino by restricting access by poorer Singaporeans, but a Las Vegas-based gaming industry analyst, Jonathan Galaviz, said this will not work.

"These (integrated resort) properties are built upon mass-market participation," he told the seminar.

The government is expected to soon ask potential investors to submit formal proposals for a casino and entertainment complex.

Senior Minister for Trade and Industry Vivian Balakrishnan said Tuesday that Singapore would consider "a large-scale iconic, integrated entertainment resort" which would draw more tourists here.

"If we decide that the proposals are not of sufficient economic benefit, we will not proceed," The Straits Times quoted him as saying.

"If we decide that the social safeguards or the social consequences are disproportionate and are basically beyond the capacity of our society to tolerate, then we will not proceed," he added.

Local broadcaster Channel News Asia reported Monday that the number of gambling addicts seeking treatment in Singapore had jumped eightfold in the past two years.
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