Don't Strike The ACE

According to Wikipedia, gambling is the wagering of valuables with an uncertain outcome. Many enjoy the satisfaction it can bring through the winning of pennies. However, it is in fact a blind favor of indulgence, in which a gambler strikes on the climax of his nights without foreseeing the adverse effects that might be cast from the actions.

  Many hold the false idea that gambling is the most effective method of striking riches instantly. People stride into casinos, with eyes gleaming with hopes in acclaiming double or even triple the value they wager. But gambling is unpredictable. It is a pure dependence on luck without any guarantee of winning, which causes us to lose money easily. How? A missing piece of luck can lure gamblers into incorrigible addiction given that some unsatisfied people believe their system will always pay off on the next round.

  As the gamblers get addicted to gambling, they would rather spend their days at the gambling table than to work for a living, even their time at home can be willfully limited. Being tenacious than ever, they push advices aside, as if an unbreakable bond has formed between them and the game of darkness. Less time spent with family means the lack of attention and care for the family members. This eventually becomes the cause of failure in building a secure family relationship. As we love our family, we should provide them as much security and comfort in life as we can, instead of wasting our time in casinos and let our money evaporate with the fragile hopes that it can make us richer.

  Moving on, many gamblers turn to loan sharks to feed their addiction to gambling, which is already on a daily basis for them. However, borrowing money from loan sharks might lead to endless amounts of interests they are incapable of paying back, thus causing them a financial catastrophe. As a result, their family members may have to face unscrupulous loan sharks, who collect debts by applying violence and are considered threats to their safety and peace. How can gambling be denied as a risk of losing a massive fortune or a harmony life?

  On the other hand, as many gamblers pursue the act of gambling at home, they provide an early exposure to their children. With the youngsters’ immensely-aroused curiosity, all they do is just blindly imitate the adults’ bad examples. They only have to pick up a deck of cards or a Mahjong dice to indulge themselves in their parents’ favourite ‘pastime’. This in turn leads to the production of a new generation of future gamblers. If this situation proceeds, the addiction to gambling in people will never end as it has already been built in mind from a young age.

  However, gambling has been deemed an undesirable act in Malaysia since donkey’s years. The government has been continually drilling the negative effects of wagering in the public’s mindsets especially the younger generation, through prominent mediums such as education and the social media. It is undeniable that children are the future of our nation. We have great expectations of them in bringing up the country’s economic success and prosperity. Hence, we simply cannot afford to have them involved in gambling.

  Wasting time and money, facing threats of loan sharks and affecting the younger generation-- these are the solid reasons why people should stop gambling that can be evidently observed from our society. However, these are, ironically, just the tip of an iceberg. If we dream of bringing our country up to a world-class status, all acts of gambling must be stopped at all costs. And on my part, I will initiate myself in programmes to advocate the demerits of gambling and the undesirable consequences that it might bring to the public at large, especially the youngsters. 

By,

Euan Thum.
Editted by,

Thum Voon Thik.