Hi, just wanna find out after reading this newspaper article. How many of you guys really turn to Singapore Pools for your bets ?? Please shareyour views


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THE bookies don't make 'em like they used to. The money, that is.
Even as Euro '08 hits fever pitch with the competition into the quarter-final rounds, bookies are weeping over low betting activity, which sources say have dropped by up to 20 per cent.

This is in contrast to previous big competitions which, by one estimate, saw $1.3 billion changing hands in Malaysia and Singapore during the last World Cup in 2006.

The reasons:


Inflation, prompting punters to scale back their bets to deal with higher living expenses.

Bookies here and in Malaysia have been complaining that even their regular punters have reduced their bets.


Stepped-up police action, prompting one bookie, chanced upon by The New Paper on Sunday, to declare that he is thinking of quitting.

The man, who claims to manage two online betting facilities, said of the police crackdown: 'I feel like giving up, man!'

Easier, convenient - and legal - betting offered by Singapore Pools.

But there are other factors, too, such as the lukewarm response to the tournament.

Avid football fan Quincy Tan felt that 'not many are as crazy over Euro '08 compared to the EPL (English Premier League).'

The 40-year-old businessman said: 'Somehow, the tournament has less fanfare (in Singapore) than other competitions, such as the World Cup.'

Mr Tan has been following the matches only because his favourite team - Germany - is still in the running.

'And since I only support Germany, of course I'd bet on the team to win.'

He has spent about $5,000 on bets so far.

In a random poll of 150 people, The New Paper on Sunday found that while all of them have placed soccer bets at one time or another, only 48 of them are betting on Euro '08.

BET ON EPL MATCHES

Sales director Winz Loh, 33, offered this reason for the waning interest this year: 'Most Singapore football fans support English clubs and actually bet more heavily on EPL matches.

'Since England is out of Euro '08, most punters are unsure about the game-play.

'So even if Cristiano Ronaldo is playing (for Portugal), you just can't tell if his team-mates are able to complement him since they don't play together regularly.'

Mr Loh also pointed out that the World Cup tournament has hot teams such as Brazil and Argentina.

He said: 'It's all very quiet. There's no hype. You don't even hear people talking about the matches in coffeeshops.'

If waning interest has made a dent on bookies' earnings, what of Singapore Pools?

A Singapore Pools' spokesman did not give details, but added: 'The interest in Euro 2008, being a regional tournament, is higher than that of national leagues, but below that of the World Cup.'

Singapore Pools included foreign leagues and tournaments for betting in 2002. Since then, 'the volume has increased over the years', its spokesman said.

'We hope in this way, we have managed to woo bettors away from the illegal syndicates, in keeping with our mission to combat illegal betting operations.'

Less than half of the 150 polled - 63 - place their bets with illegal operators.

A recently retired soccer bookie bemoaned that his 'business just kept dropping so much' that he decided to offer online betting.

He said: 'With people going tech-savvy, it made sense to meet the demand.'

Even then, his takings for Euro '08 has dwindled considerably.

'Some bookies say they were feeling the heat with police hot on their heels, but still, we're wondering why the money is no longer as lucrative,' he said.

Football fans and punters often bet to add to the excitement over the matches.

Mr Alan Ang, 22, who is serving national service, said he wagered because it gives 'an added kick' when he is watching the game.

Cabby Wong Ee Hwee, 55, agreed: 'How exciting the game turns out for me depends on the stakes I've put on it.'

Mr Wong, who usually chooses his team 'by gut feel', claimed he has won more than $4,000 so far.

'I buy most of my bets with Singapore Pools. But there were two or three matches when I placed some money with the bookies.'

Regular football punters, such as one who called himself 'Ah Boy', said that with the crackdown on illegal bookies, some bettors just don't have the 'kang tao' ('source' in Hokkien) anymore.

He said: 'Unless you have a regular bookie you've worked with, you probably won't bet as much.

'As bookies offer better odds than Singapore Pools, when you bet legally, the winnings are too insignificant.'

But Ah Boy added: 'Even as the 'dua puahn' ('big plate' in Hokkien, a term for bookies) complain that takings have dropped, the truth is, they still make money.'

One man seated at a coffee shop who claimed to be a bookie said: 'Singaporean punters generally prefer to bet on the favourites, and that's where there is usually a game handicap.

'So even if the favourite team wins the match, the punters still lose money.'

Rising costs have also had an effect. Freelance interior designer Foo Vee Chin, 35, said: 'Everything's going up these days; we're finding it hard to make ends meet.

'I just can't afford to lose too much money.'

He has cut down his usual $2,000 bets by half for each match.

'And I don't bet on every match anymore,' Mr Chin added.

Student Eugene Kwok, 22, said: 'My previous bets for the EPL and World Cup were very small, more for experience's sake.