Gambling: Just Ban It
According to one recent survey which was conducted on 60 young Chinese Malaysians, the majority of them believed that gambling is a form of entertainment, while only 28.3% of them believed that it is a hanrmful activity. For those who believe that gambling is culturally acceptable, like the Chinese and other non-Muslim communities, gambling is even seen as a right of the non-Muslims. Thus, they are against any move to curtail the activity, like what the state of Kedah announced recently.
Any responsible government has to put the interest of its people as the highest priority, and if gambling is proven to be harmful then it should be banned for the sake of protecting their interest. And yet, that is also the argument used by the defenders of gambling—it is good for the economy because gambling industry creates jobs and brings in investments and revenues to the government, and therefore, in the interest of the society, it should not be banned.
Without denying the possible benefits of gambling we must also consider and acknowledge the harmful effects of this activity to the individual and the society as a whole. According to American Psychological Association, gambling addiction is a kind of substance-related, addictive disorder. So gambling has actually become an addiction, a mental health issue and a social problem. In fact, based on a research, compared to their Asian counterparts Malaysians gamble more and have higher rate of gambling-related problem like borrowing money from loan shark. Gambling does not only harm a person financially but may also cause health problems, psychological and emotional distress, as well as damage to social and cultural relationship. There is however, little agreement among the researchers as to the appropriate way to conceptualize and quantify the impact of gambling on society. Economic approach has been criticized for being concerned only with the overall aggregate wealth in the society, whereas wealth also means general well-being, and not just limited to material well-being.
Like alcohol and drug, gambling can negatively impact individuals, families and communities. However, since what is being effected here is the quality of life, it is not something easy to measure compared to economic benefits. Gambling industries have promoted gambling for their own profit as well as for possible benefits to local economy. In fact, one of the major selling points of casinos is the tax revenues to be gained from legalized gambling. But we must ask: at what cost? And who is going to pay it?
Gambling habit may cost loss of productivity and problems associated with gambling could outweigh the economic benefits. Hard earned income used for gambling should have been used for essential purposes by the gambler or his family members. But gambling has become like substance abuse, where the society could end up paying the cost of treatment and rehabilitation. A number of studies have been conducted to ascertain the link between availabity of gambling and rise in crime rate and other social ills like divorce, domestic violence and even suicide. But debates between the supporters of gambling and its opponents will continue, whie the gambling industry will continue to grow bigger and bigger.
There will never be agreement on what constitutes benefit or harm because what is thought as beneficial to a person might be harnful to the other, or vice versa. The problem of good and evil cannot be decided by resorting purely to unaided human reason. There must be an authority beyond human reason and self interest to which everyone consciously amnd willingly submits. But this is precisely the predicament of modern society where truth does not matter anymore, and now man has become the measure of everything.
As far as Islam is concerned, there is no ambiguity regarding the unlawfulness of gambling. Gambling, together with drinking, has been condemned as among the works of satan, and hence both must be shunned by the believers. Despite acknowledging that gambling and drinking might bring some benefits to man the Qur’an prohibits them because they pose greater harm to the society. And yet, since gambling and drinking have become habits of the Arabs before Islam, the prohibition has been made in a gradual manner. Today, the Muslims do not need to wait for result of reseaches and studies in order to be convinced that gambling and drinking are bad and must be avoided. And as for the policymakers what they need is sincerity and the will to turn it into policy and action. Of course they must be wise and cautious in the implementation, but not to the extent of being seen as indecisive and weak.
