The moral economy of gambling and the negotiation of minority ethno class social positions a socio cultural study of lower income malay muslim gamblers in singapore

Additionally, the minority-in-majority settings that frame the experiences of Malay-Muslim gamblers in Chinese-dominated Singapore make it even more pertinent to investigate the dynamics

Chapter 1 Approaching Gambling as a Cultural-Economic and Socially-Embedded Process

1.1 “Where‟d all the money come from?”: An Anecdotal Preface to the Research Topic Since the age of 8, my mother‟s extended family would hold the occasional but much cherished dinner party at restaurants; where we could take up to 5 tables or even a small private room with our rowdy 20-odd party size On average, these dinners were held at least once a month, and they were of special significance to everyone, not only because

we enjoyed each other‟s company, but also mainly due to their rarity and relative

„extravagance‟, which provided a welcome break from the day-to-day consumption experiences of a lower-income family In addition, there were those familial and religious

celebratory events, or kenduris, held at least once a month for the purposes of giving

thanks for achievements or the resolution of a particular problem1 These were larger scale events that usually required food for a minimum of 30 people and thus involved a significant amount of resources Until recently however, (probably coinciding with my postgraduate foray into the sociological fields of race and social class) I never questioned

how such rather lavish outings were actually being financed Also particularly puzzling,

was the fact that none of my family members had post-secondary school education at that time and thus the highest paid amongst my uncles and aunties were employed in low-wage low-skilled occupations such as security guards, factory workers and office assistants

1

Achievements include the birth of a child, birthdays of senior family members, a child‟s passing of school examinations Celebrations for the resolution of problems mainly include recoveries from illnesses; there were instances where my family gave thanks upon the release of one of my uncles from prison and the reconciliation between another uncle and his wife who were nearly divorced

Upon questioning my mother, I found out that although all the working members in the family each contributed a small share, it has actually always been two of my uncles who had taken turns to shoulder the bulk of the expenses This revelation raised even more questions for me considering that these where the very two uncles who have been frequently complaining of financial problems, and who also regularly borrowed sums of money from other friends and family members including my own parents; whom they have always struggled to repay in full After being subjected to persistent interrogation,

my mother relented and, having sworn me to secrecy, revealed the clandestine, controversial and somewhat ephemeral source of my uncles‟ wealth

“Gambling?! But, I thought they were staunch Muslims?” I exclaimed reactively and somewhat naively in retrospect An awkward and uncomfortable silence, which was tinged with shame, seemed to fall between my mother and me She declined to elaborate and told me to consult them directly, but discreetly, should I require a more detailed explanation At this point, my mind had become rife with questions stemming from the apparent contradictions pervading the entire issue: Why gamble when you are short of money in the first place? Is gambling the cause or the attempted solution to their financial problems, or both? Why be generous with such money if finances were scarce to begin with? How did they reconcile gambling with their identity as Muslims?

These puzzles led me to approach my uncles who, after gentle coaxing on my part, gradually introduced me to their world of informal resources, which mainly revolved around gambling, money-lending, debt management, „paid favours‟ and the process of

„rolling‟ one‟s money2

2 „Rolling‟ is a form of informal investment in which a sum of money, ranging from a few hundreds to a

More interestingly, however, was a particular piece of advice offered by one of my uncles who emphasized its importance for succeeding in such circles:

Malays cannot do well… Hard lah… Because this is a Chinese world! You must know

when to be Malay or when to be more like a Chinese (sic).”

I was taken aback initially but it dawned upon me that in Singapore, the dynamics of ethno-racial relations pervade almost every facet of social life; from the education system, labour markets and governmental policy-making to everyday informal social interactions Even social activities such as gambling, whether in their legal or illicit forms, are not exempted from being influenced by existing widely held racial hierarchies These findings sparked the nascence of my sociological inquiry into the phenomenon

of gambling, particularly concerning how it interplays with ethnic identity, the processes

of racialization as well as social class realities The latter constitutes a significant intertwining factor considering that Malay-Muslims are overrepresented amongst the lowest 20 percentile of Singapore‟s income strata (Singapore Statistics, 2005) Additionally, the minority-in-majority settings that frame the experiences of Malay-Muslim gamblers in Chinese-dominated Singapore make it even more pertinent to investigate the dynamics of race relations and how they manifest, especially within the domain of informal gambling and resource networks Upon discovering that the sociological literature on gambling scarcely take ethnic and class dimensions into consideration3, I began my empirical investigation of gambling among lower income Malay-Muslims in the hope of contributing towards filling these gaps in knowledge

activities and ventures, such as money lending The returns tend to be high in the short term and could even double within a month (casual correspondence with respondent)

3 Most studies examining gambling and race/ethnicity tend to be overly quantitative, essentialistic and culturally deterministic in their approaches

1.2 Introducing The Research Problem

One of the fundamental research questions driving this study concerns the experiences of minority groups gambling and interacting through gambling related activities within a majority-dominated setting However, it will be argued that Singapore‟s general tendency to synonymously associate gambling with the ethnic Chinese majority has subliminally rendered the aspect of ethnicity as an irrelevant and taken for granted „constant‟; thereby occluding any systematic and purposeful inquiry into the experiences of gamblers belonging to ethnic minority groups This particularly holds true for Malay-Muslims4, whose involvement have been more significant and historical than currently perceived by the public media and official agencies, such as the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) Interestingly however, despite Islam‟s explicit prohibition of participation in all forms of gambling (Rozenthal, 1975), preliminary research reveals the active engagement of Malay-Muslims in both formal as well as informal gambling and its related activities; particularly the latter, which tends to involve more extensive social networks for their operation This consequently leads to the second analytical impetus of this study, which attempts an in-depth exploration of the

interpersonal networks of social relations that support and are in turn, sustained by the

processes of gambling

This study qualitatively examines the gambling experiences of a particular group of Malay-Muslims who inhabit the lower echelons of Singapore society in terms of their average monthly income and education attainments (Singapore Statistics, 2008) By adopting a moral economic approach, it will be illustrated that gambling among lower

4 Malay-Muslims constitute approximately 99% of those categorized as Malays in Singapore, who

income Malay-Muslims (henceforth LIMMs) constitutes a multitude of subjectively configurable socio-cultural elements such as meanings, motivations, preferences, social networks and resources It is argued that the contextualized and empathetic analysis of these socio-cultural aspects will reveal significant insights into the lived realities and social positions of LIMMs, particularly pertaining to their experiences in confronting various ethno-racial, class and ideological constraints at the socio-structural level, as well

as in the course of dynamic everyday interaction It will be contended that such constraints stem from, and also reinforce, a prevailing ethno-class social hierarchy in which LIMMs occupy its lowest positions

Thus by examining the moral economy of informal and formal gambling practices

as our empirical premise, the analytical objectives for this thesis are threefold Firstly, to

illuminate the various forms of ethno-racial mechanisms that operate to minoritize

LIMMs within a socio-cultural context dominated by the Chinese majority Secondly, to

explicate the processes in which LIMM gamblers and their families negotiate with such

minoritization (Pereira, 2008), and the tensions arising from consumption demands and the resource-strapped realities of lower-income life Finally, this study seeks to understand and empirically contextualize the discursive relationship between the responsibilization of gambling and the individualization of risk, in terms of how they legitimize particular ethnic- and class-based social barriers; thereby ideologically perpetuating the existing ethno-class hierarchy while simultaneously contributing towards widening the cleavages between its strata

1.3 More Than Just a Game: The Moral Economy of Gambling

This section serves to expound upon the thesis‟s foundational conceptualization of

gambling, which primarily adopts McMillen‟s (1996) contextual approach towards

understanding gambling in relation to specific socio-historical, political, economic and

cultural configurations In her book Gambling Cultures, McMillen calls for the

development of more culturally sensitive conceptual tools to analyze gambling in a manner that significantly departs from conventionally universalistic definitions of gambling, which generally fail to appreciate it as anything more than either a financially-motivated act of risk-taking, social vice, pathological addiction, or a combination of these Thus, in order to gain a more holistic and detailed understanding of the dynamic

nuances of gambling in praxis and how it impacts both lived realities and social

structures, it is imperative to conceive of gambling as a phenomenon whose myriad forms

of organization and participation are highly contingent upon two integral factors: the social positions of the actors involved, and the socio-political as well as economic environment framing it For instance, the former is highly influential in affecting the gambler‟s motivations, choice of games to enter and the capacity to mobilize and utilize the various combinations of cultural, social and economic capital in the gambling process As for the latter factor, it significantly determines the structural functions of gambling and its broader cultural meaning within society‟s ideological landscape, which

directly frames the normative structures that pervade both formal and informal gambling

practices In other words, gambling may empirically be considered as comprising a moral economy where beneath the surface motivation of pursuing financial rewards are complex layers of norms, meaning systems and social networks that ultimately dictate economic decisions and the flow of resources

Adopting Binde‟s (2005) social anthropological perspective of gambling as a reciprocal system of exchange, I intend to understand the dynamics of gambling networks

in a similar manner; as a socioeconomic system whose guiding principles of organization are based on a system of values that is strongly influenced by broader socio-cultural meanings The importance of socio-cultural meanings in structuring and driving gambling is evident in Rogers‟ (1991) work on gambling activities among the underclass

in mid-nineteenth century colonial Sri Lanka, which demonstrated how their persistence

in gambling, despite the risk of facing criminal punishment and also having relatively little to gain from it economically, was actually a commitment towards rejecting what was perceived to be the elite‟s definition of the values of “thrift and work” Such ideas were central to the elite‟s worldview but were interpreted by the underclass as part of a broader ideological project of instilling a new “moral social order” for Sri Lanka The fulfillment of this goal however, required “disciplining” the general underclass population who were deemed to be morally and culturally deficient This was therefore openly rejected by the underclass through the adoption of several „norms‟ of gambling practices that served as a form of “counter-culture” against the elite These included

“meetings in isolated sheds in the middle of the night” as well as “bribery of policemen and headmen.” When police raids occurred, it was expected behaviour to make life difficult for the pursuing officers by meeting them with violence and even upon arrest, it was not uncommon to employ “the rules and language of the judicial system in ways that turned the criminal courts themselves into sites of resistance” (Ibid: 202)

Such a culture of gambling and its inherent socio-cultural meaning in Sri Lanka were therefore interpreted by Rogers as performing a galvanizing role for the members of

its underclass Although he failed to mention the ethnic make-up of the underclass, he did observe that gamblers in Sri Lanka had come from all the three major ethnic groups and were of varying caste and religious affiliations This interestingly leads to another important but rather unexplored dimension of Rogers‟ research, which concerns how the dynamics of such ethnic and social differences play out within the realm of gambling Since gambling essentially involves wagering over the outcome of specified forms of games, the highly cultural nature of the latter (Huizinga, 1949; Caillois, 1962; Goffman, 1967) in terms of the meanings, language, rules and even styles of play involved, denotes that games tend to also be associated with specific ethnic groups, particularly those who share the cultural contexts in which such games originated from Thus, it would have been pertinent to trace the ethno-cultural roots of the games popularly wagered upon by the Sri Lankan underclass in order to explain how they came to be widely accepted amongst the heterogeneous ethnic and cultural milieu Rogers did however address this issue briefly by mentioning that one of the most popular card games being gambled on,

called bebi kapanava, was introduced by the Dutch but between the various ethnic

groups, the Moors were “more involved than their overall numbers warranted, especially

as organizers” (Ibid: 178, emphasis mine)

This thesis will be an attempt at building upon Roger‟s analysis to posit that the values and norms present in gambling cultures may themselves be heterogeneous and conflicting, especially when various ethnic and class groups partake in the activity with one group being more dominant than the rest In such a case, it will be salient to explore the dynamics of power relations involved when a particular ethnic group assumes

precedence over others in the organization of gambling This is because an organizer

tends to determine the odds, decide on which game is wagered upon and is usually the one with the most capital Therefore as a corollary, it would be worth investigating how ethno-cultural and even religious factors may have affected the organization of gambling

by the Sri Lankan Moors, who as Muslims, ironically believe in a religion that explicitly proscribes gambling

In the Singapore context, gambling happens to be a “cultural” activity of the ethnic Chinese majority and in both the formal and informal gambling spheres, they tend

to assume positions of relative power and control over betting operations Additionally, I will illustrate that those values and norms of gambling which are widely-regarded across ethnic lines as being “superior” and “effective”, are closely associated with the Chinese These include, for example, the approach towards choosing bets, the superstitions believed to increase the chances of winning, the select betting locations and even the

„type‟ of individuals who excel in gambling Ultimately, I argue that the mechanisms and structures that perpetuate the dominance of the majority social group‟s values and norms within gambling is intrinsically linked to those that maintain the group‟s superior position

within the wider social hierarchy This is because gambling and the modern capitalist economy share certain fundamental requirements for those seeking to achieve upward mobility in their respective structures; chief among them is the access to social, cultural

and economic capital (Bourdieu, 1986) Nevertheless, the capacity to mobilize these

forms of capital and resources are unevenly distributed across society and for those in minority ethno-class positions, there exists major racial and class-based social barriers that work to reproduce and accentuate their inferior locations within the social strata

McMillen, (1996: 33) in reflecting on the sociological value of using gambling as

an empirical premise, aptly sums up the analytical intentions of this thesis when she writes, “gambling not only reflects the nature of social relations in any society, but also powerfully determines new social and political outcomes.” Thus, in addition to examining how the structures, norms and values of gambling in Singapore constitute a microcosm as well as an extension of the interethnic dynamics and class realities of Singapore society in general, this study will also reveal how gambling itself may serve as

a nexus of capital and resources that facilitates the process of negotiating ethno-class

social positions within a minority-in-majority setting As this section has argued, the normative structures present in gambling, coupled with its intrinsic system of resource and capital exchange, makes gambling socially and culturally malleable; therefore highly susceptible to domination by groups in superior ethno-class social positions Nevertheless, that very quality of malleability also allows for resistance and negotiation

on the part of minority groups who face latent and manifest social mechanisms that function to maintain the status quo of their subordination

The locus of analysis for this study will thus examine gambling‟s cultural dimensions; particularly those involving the social factors of ethnicity and class, whose intersections featured frequently and prominently throughout the course of my fieldwork Through ethnographic data, I will therefore illustrate how gambling experiences and

„cultures‟ tend to be influenced primarily by ethno-racial and social class contingencies, especially within a socio-cultural context that pervasively embraces the ideologies of multiracialism and meritocracy

In order to further clarify and theoretically situate the conceptual contribution of this study, the following section will highlight those seminal works which have sought to dissect the social dimensions of gambling experiences in an attempt to explicate its broader social significance through an understanding of the nature of its relationship with social structures and institutions

1.4 Understanding Gambling and Social Inequalities: Identifying the Capacity for

Conceptual Synthesis

One of the most fundamental objectives driving the majority of earlier sociological literature on gambling was dedicated towards structural explanations for the existence and persistence of gambling in modern societies (Aasved, 2003: 55) Thus far, the most dominant schools of thought have been the structural-functionalist and „safety-valve‟ paradigms, which include theories of anomie, alienation and the “leisured upper classes” (Veblen, 1925: 276) within their analytical framework From the structural-functionalist perspective, illuminating gambling‟s social role is integral towards shedding light on the cleavages and contradictions found in society‟s core values and how it has impacted society as a whole as well as its various segments

Renowned scholarship in this vein include Devereux‟s (1949) theory of how gambling served multiple purposes for members of the various strata of modern industrial society in the United States, which was also characterized by the values of capitalism and Protestant Christianity Devereux explains, in a rather Mertonian manner, that such value systems espouse several highly contradictory moral-ethical tenets that ultimately encourage strain and feelings of status frustration for those unable to ascend society‟s rungs through the more socially established routes Thus, while gambling‟s „quick and

easy‟ route to success may be antithetical to the Puritan ethic of hard work and rationality, its social functionality lies in providing disadvantaged groups with an easily accessible avenue to partake in potentially profitable processes of risk-taking and decision making Devereux argues that these endeavors, while ideologically advocated in modern capitalist societies, are scarcely experienced by the lower-middle and working classes in their daily course of life due to their general employment in occupations that tend to lack official autonomy and clear chances for upward mobility On the other hand, gambling as a form of “conspicuous leisure” allows the upper classes to symbolically

enhance their social statuses by indulging in games of chance that display their abilities to

risk large sums of money with “apparent indifference” (Aasved, 2003: 24)

Hence, although gambling‟s almost universal appeal is assumed to cut across the boundaries of social class, numerous scholars have observed marked differences in the way gambling tends to qualitatively differ for gamblers from the various income strata; namely in terms of betting patterns and practices as well as the meanings derived from the experiences The most apparent differences are in terms of the amounts spent on bets, the choice of games betted on, and even the most frequented locations for gambling In Newman‟s (1972: 85) comprehensive work on gambling patterns in Britain, he reported a higher proportion of middle and upper class gamblers betting in the casinos and gaming clubs than those from the working classes Such a proportion is however, reversed when

it comes to horseracing (both on- and off-track) and the football pools, which remain the choice locations and games for less affluent punters More interestingly, Newman also discovered that the frequency and average proportion of income spent on bets tended to get higher as he descended the income hierarchy

However, as mentioned above, gambling among lower-income groups has generally been regarded by scholars as either functioning as a form of “safety-valve” that legitimates the system, its values and its inherent inequalities, or an expression of symbolic resistance to them Examples of comprehensive ethnographic accounts adopting the former perspective include a study by Maclure et al (2006) on how playing bingo allows her female respondents to cope with the everyday stresses of being responsible for domestic affairs while simultaneously facing social realities characterized by “the lack of economic and job-related power” (Ibid: 182) This analysis was echoed and elaborated on

by Casey (2008) who empirically developed the themes on gender, class and consumption Earlier studies by Zola (1963) and Herman (1967) also examined the social utility of off- and on-track horseracing for working-class men who require an outlet to vent their frustrations on the mainstream middle-class „system‟ while also seeking alternative arenas to obtain achievement and recognition through the exercise of skill and knowledge during the process of bet selection

Also relevant is Light‟s (1977) research on impoverished black ghettos in the United States where numbers gambling served as an alternative financial institution for the economically marginalized Allen (2005: 203) though, was more critical of such

“functionalist” explanations and her observations at a similar research site argued that the

“habitus” of the horse-track betting represents a blatant rejection of capitalism‟s

“normative institutionalized structures of investment, wage labour and reward”

In sum, the analyses in all these works argued that important thematic links could

be established between gambling experiences, the ethnic, gender and class identities of the gamblers, as well as the larger social context However, there also exists a general

tendency to approach gambling as a mitigating device for the negative effects stemming from dysfunctionalities of wider social structures This becomes theoretically problematic

because such conceptions of gambling treat it merely as a reactionary coping mechanism;

thereby failing to appreciate the element of initiative present in gambling participation

and how it actually involves the active management of resources as well as social and cultural forms of capital by minority groups in their attempts to negotiate upward

mobility for both their gambling „careers‟ and their social positions

In other words, the conceptual dichotomy of treating gambling for the lower classes as either a “safety-valve” or form of “resistance” tends to gloss over the hierarchical dynamics found within the sophisticated norms of gambling and its interpersonal networks Furthermore, most scholars of gambling have limited their field research to only the sites where gambling occurs and therefore fail to explore the

“background” processes that take place in the lead up to, as well as after the act of gambling These include the knowledge gathering, planning, networking and even their evaluation of their gambling experiences in relation to their lived realities

Thus far, only Casey and Light have extended their empirical focus to incorporate data from the other facets of their respondents‟ lives apart from gambling For them, the study of gambling illuminates important thematic dimensions about the lived experiences

of social minorities; dimensions that are distinct from, yet inextricably intertwined with the more established spheres of the family, work and the community Thus, while gambling is usually experienced and framed as „leisure activity‟, or as „action‟-filled events that are (Goffman, 1967) distinctly bracketed from other more „ordinary‟ spheres

of life, such as work and family, scholars like Casey and Light demonstrate that a more

contextually nuanced understanding of gambling is required to holistically explore the

meanings, resource flows and social interactions that constitute yet transcend the

immediate and bounded experience of gambling

Therefore, due to its capacity for producing meanings and transferring financial resources, gambling experiences establish a dynamic and „symbiotic‟ relationship to other aspects of an individual‟s lived reality; on the one hand, gambling activities are influenced and interpreted through immanent socio-biographical processes such as ethnic identities and social class; on the other, individuals may also draw on gambling networks‟ potential to generate financial capital as a means of coping with, or even transcending the contingencies resulting from their social positions

Gambling networks embody a unique social character due to the relatively informal nature of their connections, which are simultaneously substantial and concrete enough for the interchange of financial resources to take place with the minimum levels

of trust required The question to be raised and answered here pertains to the how the dynamics of such networks play out within a diverse and hierarchical ethnic social milieu that also sees significant gaps between income groups Thus, taking the lead from such

an approach to gambling, this thesis intends to document and analyze the ethno-racial and class processes inherent in the social spheres of gambling in Singapore In order to do so, the empirical scope of analysis could therefore be extended to include both the immediate networks associated with gambling and the wider circle of social relations where resources are constantly circulated between

In addition, it was discovered that the resource-based exchanges occurring within such networks tended to be structured by ethno-racially associated forms of „rationality‟,

which my respondents generally perceive as constituting a cultural marker that is not

only used to distinguish between the majority and minority ethnic groups, but also justify their respective positions within the existing socio-ethnic hierarchy Simply put, along with physical and cultural forms of delineations between the Chinese and Malays, such as skin colour, dress, religion and language, there are also strong stereotypical perceptions about how these respective ethnic groups have different „ways of thinking‟ or decision-making processes; especially with regards to managing financial and economic resources Through selected verbatim excerpts of empirical data, I will demonstrate how such perceptions are held by both majority and minority ethnic group members alike and actively exert an influence on structuring the patterns of social action and interaction amongst my pool of informants However, while there exists an almost self-fulfilling cyclical process of internalizing and reifying these ethno-racial stereotypes, it was noted

that there is also significant leeway for their rejection, and even capitalization on the part

of minorities in terms of obtaining resources

Thus, the analyses in this thesis will argue that gambling participation in a majority dominated setting not only serves as an important opportunity for working class minority gamblers to access a nexus of informal capital and resources, but also allows them the capacity to resist, negotiate, but in most cases, also indirectly reinforce the prevalent racial hierarchy as well as ideas of racio-class associated rationalities

1.5 Studying Gambling in Singapore: The Importance of Ethno-Class Dimensions

A previously barren field of study, the stock of academic literature on gambling in Singapore only began to really flourish from 2005 onwards; coinciding with the government‟s official decision to construct the country‟s first casinos (ST 2005 April 13)

Since then, the ensuing “casino debate” led to the subsequent medicalization of gambling and the introduction of the “problem gambler” as a category Through a thorough and critical analysis of the state‟s discourse on gambling, Zhu (2008: 45) succinctly argued that the framing of gambling as a potentially addictive and pathological behaviour facilitates the dissociation of the Singapore state from being responsible for any adverse social consequences that the public may attribute to it due to its decision to build two

casinos This is done mainly by constructing a paradigm that locates the source of

socially deviant behaviour (in this case pathological gambling) within the individual

Therefore, the role that the state has delineated for itself lies only to the treatment and

minimization of the effects of a clearly individualized problem

Thus, in order to shore up the legitimacy of such an ideological discourse of medicalizing gambling, it was imperative for the government to consult with and obtain the support of a whole slew of “experts” in the field of gambling behaviour This led to the founding of the state sponsored National Council on Problem Gambling, which was set up in 2005 with the explicit objective of providing “counseling, legal and

rehabilitative services” as well as “advice and feedback” to the government (National

Council on Problem Gambling, 2005; emphasis mine)

Unfortunately however, the majority of approaches in local gambling literature have been from the perspectives of economics, governance, medicine and the psy-sciences Works from the former two disciplines generally address the issue of regulating illegal forms of gambling as well as assessing the economic and social impacts of Singapore‟s decision to build a casino as means of increasing tourism-generated revenue (Henderson, 2006; Ng, 2006; Swafford, 2006; Hoong, 2008) As their analytical

objectives tend to be macroeconomic in nature, there is barely any theoretical space to explore the more “grounded” and subjective manifestations of gambling As for the latter two academic fields, their preoccupation with diagnosing and remedying the effects of

“problem gambling” has resulted in an excessive focus on highly de-contextualized and individualized factors affecting gambling behaviour (Zangeneh, Grunfeld and Koenig, 2008; Dickerson and O‟Connor, 2006; Ladouceur, Sylvain and Boutin, 2002; Whelan, Meyers and Steenbergh, 2007)

In other words, influences from the social environment are either neglected or treated as analytically separate and discrete For instance, data is often gathered on the

age, ethnicity and income level of gamblers, but not on how these biographical

characteristics actually impact upon the processes of gambling as experienced by individuals This is largely due to an overly reductionistic conception of gambling as a simple act of betting over the outcomes of events which have an element of uncertainty

Such an understanding overlooks the fact that gambling in praxis is intrinsically a social

process that inherently possesses and requires a multitude of subjective meanings, knowledge, resources and interpersonal relations that extend beyond the domain of gambling and into other areas of a gambler‟s life, especially with respect to consumption Thus, amidst the dearth of gambling studies in Singapore, there seems to be a further poverty in the scholarly knowledge on how gambling processes are related to social structures as well as the dynamics of their operation at the “everyday” and interactional level

This latter aspect of interactivity in gambling is seldom appreciated because gamblers are often perceived to be competing solely against the “house”, which has also

been interpreted as an abstract representation of the “system” (Zola, 1963) or even the

larger “risk society” (Tay, 2006) However, an important but largely ignored social dimension of the gambling experience involves the indirect competition with other

gamblers While the various ethnographic observations of gambler interactions within social settings have reported that a general sense of camaraderie and bonding exists between punters, there is also the knowledge that the payouts for winning bets are largely, if not entirely financed by lost bets This element of competition was alluded to

by Casey, Zola, Tan and Soo when they demonstrated that although luck is believed to be

an essential determinant of success in gambling, gamblers still channel extensive amounts

of resources and effort towards obtaining knowledge, “honing” their betting skills as well

as augmenting their chances of winning However, it is apparent in my data that for gamblers coming from relatively similar socioeconomic backgrounds, such resources, knowledge and skills also assume an ethno-racial complexion

With regards to the relationship between ethnicity and gambling, it is a widely accepted fact in Singapore (and most parts of the world) that the Chinese are virtually

“culturally” inclined to gamble It is not uncommon for academic articles to begin their analyses with a point similar to that made by Arthur, Tong, Chen et al (2008) in the introductory section of their study on gambling behaviour among Singaporean university students:

Gambling has been an integral part of Chinese culture for centuries Luck and fate play important parts of in the daily lives of the Chinese […] Games of luck such as mahjong…promote social interaction… and enable the younger Chinese generation to be much early on exposed to gambling behaviour […] There is thus a possibility that perceptions of gambling as part of the cultural lifestyle, history and tradition have enabled them to incorporate values and beliefs that approve gambling behaviour […] Singapore is made up of a predominantly Chinese population As such there is a notion that the incidence of gambling behaviour…is fairly accepted even at a younger age

Even government-sanctioned reports on gambling continually emphasize the overwhelmingly higher participation rates of the Chinese in comparison to the other ethnic groups (Ministry of Community Development Youth and Sport, 2005; 2008; National Council on Problem Gambling, 2007) However, while there seems little evidence to disprove the validity of the assertion that the Chinese are culturally predisposed to gamble, I would like to point out the tendency for most researchers to implicitly assume that the Chinese constitute the only significant ethnic group amongst the total population of gamblers This is evident in the majority of studies which, despite admitting to the appeal of gambling across ethnic groups, fail to address the impact of ethnic differences in gambling experiences; possibly due to the perception that either gamblers in “predominantly Chinese” Singapore are more or less ethnically homogenous,

or that ethnicity had little or no influence on the gambling behaviour of their sample population

Such perceptions have nevertheless been falsified by two in-depth academic exercises from the field of sociology Tan‟s (1995) dissertation, which adopted the social-psychological approach to examine the normative contingencies employed by gamblers

to rationalize their actions, was the first study to highlight and explore the importance of ethnic identity in colouring the meaning-making “schemes” that gamblers interpret their experiences with Her sole interview with a Malay-Muslim female respondent revealed how having a religious identity that explicitly opposes gambling does not necessarily

prevent an individual from gambling altogether, rather it compels one to reinterpret

gambling as a trivial activity with a minor influence on one‟s life Although this seems to

reinforce the insignificance of gambling participation among Malay-Muslims, data from

an earlier and more ethnographic work by Soo (1991) suggests otherwise

In one of the most detailed comparative accounts of the beliefs and practices between Chinese, Malay-Muslim and Hindu gamblers to date, Soo reported three extremely enlightening points which are of central relevance to the analytical themes of this thesis; firstly, her revelation that Malays in Sumatra had gambling as one of their chief forms of recreation despite the majority of them being Muslims Secondly, in her conclusion, she stated that:

Perhaps Islam‟s emphasis on „otherworldliness‟ for the Muslim punters is counterbalanced by societal pressures (ie a highly competitive society which values financial affluence and personal success) In the words of a Muslim punter, “Others (Chinese punters) seem to win easy money from this It‟s natural that we want to try our luck too […] money is hard to come by these days (Soo, 1991: 108)

This underscores that the negotiation of one‟s religious identity is framed, filtered and to

an extent, even shaped by the contingencies of class realities Thus, the belief in religion,

in this case Islam, does not simply function as an obstacle to the actions of Muslim gamblers, but instead works as an interpretive frame of reference that gives meaning to and structures their actions in ways that are qualitatively different from other ethnic groups

Malay-Additionally, the quote from her Muslim informant illuminates a process of

“othering” where the Chinese are not only seen as different, but also better gamblers

This leads to the third important point raised by Soo when she briefly commented that the sharing of similar gambling “philosophies” between the various ethnic groups, as well as the “possible diffusion of some Chinese ideas across ethnic boundaries in Singapore”, could be due to the influence of the Chinese majority (Ibid: 109) I argue that while her

observation here is astute, she clearly overlooks the integral relationship between power and culture and the political process in which the norms and ideas of the majority become institutionalized as “mainstream”; thereby exerting hegemonic influence over minority groups In a subsequent chapter, I will demonstrate how the socioeconomic and political dominance of the Chinese has facilitated the preeminence of some of its cultural values, which have been perpetuated as self-evident “truths” across ethnic groups and therefore

serve to culturally underpin the prevailing ethno-racial hierarchy in Singapore society

1.6 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter sought to highlight gambling‟s socio-cultural dimensions and networked character, in order to understand the phenomenon as a

cultural-economic process that has social variations Such an approach will be necessary

to establish the dynamic relationship between the empirical premise of gambling activities and the social institutions of ethnicity and class In the context of Singapore, the racialization of gambling as a preoccupation of the Chinese majority has overshadowed attempts to explore the interethnic dynamics present in the gambling participation of members of minority social groups, especially in the informal spheres Historical evidence5, popular films and anecdotal data would support the notion that Malays have been gambling in larger numbers than publicly perceived, just that they do so in less conspicuous working class social settings Additionally, it is in such settings where ethnicity is utilized as a resource-gaining strategy involving a dynamic process of capital conversion and activation Ultimately, this thesis will contend that while racial

5 A report compiled in 1887 entitled, „The Commission Appointed to Enquire into the Question of Public Gambling in The Straits Settlements‟ revealed that Malays were involved, albeit in lower ranks of the

hierarchies are reproduced within the context of informal gambling networks, the access

to the nexus of ethnic-based social, cultural and economic capital that gambling affords to minorities constitutes an outlet in which they may negotiate more favourable social positions Paradoxically however, the pathways to such social transcendence usually

require the implicit acceptance of the cultural and rationality structures of the majority

ethnic and class group

Chapter 2 Methodological Reflections

The purpose of this chapter is fourfold; firstly, to provide a detailed description of the research methods employed during the course of data generation; secondly, as an exercise in reflexivity to discuss how specific aspects of my biography and my relationship to the informants may have affected the quality of their responses; thirdly, to draw some analytical insights from certain contingencies arising during the of conduct of fieldwork and finally, to discuss the limitations resulting from such exigencies as well as the steps that were taken to circumvent or mitigate any negative influences they may have been exerted on the research process as a whole

2.1 Locating the Sample Population: Issues with Establishing Trust and Rapport

This section will discuss the issues involved in gaining access to the various sample groups interviewed for this study The importance of establishing rapport with each informant cannot be overstated due to the highly sensitive nature of the questions being asked, especially for those that dealt with perceptions of racial groups, degree of involvement in illicit gambling activities and expenditure In most occasions where the informants only agreed to a single meeting, there was a tendency for them to openly question the relevance of such questions to the research topic as well as express reluctance in answering them, specifically those pertaining to race and their management

of finances These instances were usually defused by my insistence that my questions were simply a genuine attempt at conducting a thorough study and the reiteration that their identities would be completely protected Admittedly, this line of reasoning did not

always alleviate all the apprehensions my informants had, but interestingly, approximately half of them proceeded to share their answers, albeit very cautiously but also more freely, after enquiring if I had asked the question to other informants I also saw this as an opportunity display some “cultural knowledge” by quoting some of my previous informants‟ use of informal and “legally questionable” strategies in an attempt

to prompt and encourage the sharing of more culturally nuanced descriptions of experiences Below is an example of such interchanges

Interviewer: Just now you said you sometimes you will lose a lot of money and then

sometimes win a lot… When you lose so much, what do you do to… apa Abang buat

untuk cari duit?[What did you do to obtain money?]

Zain: Ah… Ada la, pinjam skit, gadai pun Abang pernah buat…Eh Ni soalan ada tanya

Dino tak? [I borrowed small amounts from people, pawned some valuables… did you ask

such questions to Dino too?]

Interviewer: Ada…soalan soalan ni semua sama Dino kata dia ajak Zain buat “project”

dengan dia eh? Ni project macham “rolling” ah? [Yes, all the questions are the same

Dino said he asked you to join him in some „project‟, was it similar to “rolling”]

Zain: Ah ah ye, Dino kan banyak project, dia cakap ada satu project… eh ni jangan

bilang orang lain tau? ada project ni boleh dapat banyak duit… tapi kena keluar sikit duit… [Yes, that Dino has a lot of “projects” There is this one project, but don‟t tell

anyone else alright? This project can make a lot of money, but first you have to have some capital to start with]

Thus although I lacked the opportunity to establish rapport with some informants, I tried

to gain their trust through the endorsement by a known previous informant The substantial amount of trust already present within the relationships between LIMM gamblers, which probably had been generated from their mutual membership in informal and illegal networks, was essential in creating a form of “grafted” rapport that facilitated fostering feelings of familiarity and ease while sharing their experiences

2.1.1 LIMM Gamblers

The first and most basic challenge encountered while generating data for this thesis involved obtaining access to informants who were willing to come forward and speak with me at length and in detail about an aspect of their lives that is generally considered “undesirable” or even “taboo” by both the larger ethnoracial community in which they profess to identify with, as well as themselves Nevertheless, I had been fortunate enough to not only have six Malay-Muslim family members who happened to

be regular gamblers, but who were also active members of informal and illicit gambling networks This was a crucial aspect for this study because all of the LIMM informants were contacted through the process of snowballing from the social networks of those six family members of mine

Fortunately, despite being related, each of the six had rather distinct biographical characteristics from one another and more importantly, except for two of my uncles, the rest were part of mutually exclusive gambling networks Thus it was empirically fruitful

to be able to triangulate elements of the information generated among members of differing social networks and still perceive commonalities, especially with statements and accounts that express ethnoracial perceptions and stereotypes as well as those pertaining

between “luck-based” and “skilled-based” to differentiate between those who choose their bets primarily on “hunches” and those who devote significant amounts of time and effort in studying their bet selections Leisure gamblers were those who claimed to gamble sporadically when they have the extra money, or when they felt confident that the team they supported would win them some money They are primarily luck-based and tended to bet on “long-shots” that had very low chances of winning but high payout rates There was also an additional category for a minority of my informants who were “career” gamblers These individuals were not only relatively more successful at gambling, but also managed to profit from assuming the role of a bookmaker (bookie) or a runner (a middle-man between the bookie and bettor)

2.1.2 Gamblers from other Ethnic Groups

A total of 5 Chinese gamblers were interviewed, 2 of them were snowballed from the pool of LIMM gamblers while the rest were contacted through personal networks The main issue with the Chinese informants was tendency to express any opinions deemed to be derogatory towards the Malays, which was primarily due to their initial belief that I was Malay Interestingly, upon finding out that I was actually categorized under the Chinese racial group, they began to shed some of their inhibitions A couple of them even expressed mocked fear of being reported to the Internal Security Department after stating that they agreed with several negative stereotypes of the Malays

2.1.3 Family Members

A total of three family members were interviewed to find out how the gambling participation of their husband, cousin and brother affected them These interviews proved

the most difficult to secure as most of the LIMM gamblers had strong reservations about sharing their gambling experiences with family members

2.2 The Process of Data Generation

2.2.1 In-depth interviews

The qualitative research method was chosen for this study because of its strengths

in establishing highly detailed accounts of experiences as well as generating information from an empathic perspective The interviews were mostly conducted at coffee shops, void decks and in several cases, the homes of the informants A recurring precaution that arose in the buildup to each meeting with my informants was the need to have privacy from their family members In fact there were a couple of instances in the initial stages of fieldwork where interviews were abandoned altogether because an informant‟s family member had either sat in or insisted to participate, which extreme discomfort for the informant One of my key informants, Bohari, explains the reason behind this need to keep his family members from knowing of his participation in gambling activities:

Better not la… if they know nanti susah [it will be difficult]… Diorang dah lama dah

suspect… Every time I got money, they ask me “where you get?” Diorang dah tak percaya aku la [they don‟t trust me anymore]… I want to ask their help also hard… Last

time I when I win money belanja [took them out and paid for their meals] all no problem, after I kena tangkap [got caught for gambling-related credit card fraud]… semua tengok

aku macham haram aje nak mintak tolong pun susah [everyone in the family perceived

me as a “sinner” and that made it hard for me to even ask for help now]

Granted, Bohari‟s explanation does not speak for the myriad of other possible justifications that my other informants may have Nevertheless, there exists a common sentiment of uneasiness among them as well as a defensive unwillingness to being judged This is because, despite the various rationalizations, “techniques of

neutralization” (Sykes and Matza‟s, 1957) and “normative contingencies” held by LIMM informants, they all seem to personally admit that their actions are wrong Although this may be construed as either an attempt at maintaining political correctness or simply just

“pleasing the interviewer”, several accounts by LIMM gamblers do allude to the presence

of a constant internal struggle to negotiate a compromise between their religious identities and their gambling practices, which to them, mean more than just a frivolous leisure pursuit; a substantial proportion of them perceive their success and failures in the gambling spheres as reflective of their relative chances for improving their social circumstances albeit with certain moral brakes This is especially so for informants whose gambling patterns belong to the categories of “routine” and “career” as those who are more successful at drawing and “rolling” more financial resources from their gambling networks tend to believe that their experiences with winning bets are a form of “divine intervention”, which aids in alleviating them from the stresses of lower-income realities but at the expense of their status as a “proper Muslim” On the other hand, for those informants who frequently lose and who also tend to inhabit relatively marginal positions within illicit and informal gambling domains, their “failures” in gambling are believed to

be confirmatory indicators of their designated social positions and roles in life, which they also perceive as constituting a form of comeuppance for their indulgence in such

“sinful” activities

Furthermore, contrary to popular perceptions, the majority of the LIMM gamblers

I encountered professed to be practicing Muslims During interviews, expressions like

“Alhamdulliah” and “Insyallah” were frequently used by my informants On a few

occasions, informants would turn up for interviews scheduled on Friday afternoons

wearing a sarong and would mention that they had just come from the mosque In other

words, Islam and its explicit proscription of gambling was definitely a source of identity conflict for my informants who tended to either “compartmentalize” their gambling experiences or had to negotiate some form of compromis I believe my Muslim identity, which became apparent when I revealed my name, also exerted some influence on the interview proceedings as informants tended to gloss over certain religious meanings in the presumption that I already knew what they were talking about I thus had to constantly assume a disposition of “cultural ignorance” by asking them to elaborate further about certain religious interpretations in their own terms

2.3.2 Vested Interests in the Interviewer-Informant Relationship

There were several cases in which 4 of the informants, whom I had interviewed two or more times, had called me up personally and requested to borrow sums of money ranging from $50 to $300 One informant had even asked if I wanted to invest $2,000 in one of his “rolling” plans Upon further questioning, I found out that the plan actually involved “lending” that money to an illegal moneylender who then promised a return of more than half of the capital sum within a month After I had politely declined, the informant appeared to be frustrated and implied that I was ungrateful after he had sacrificed time on 3 separate occasions to be interviewed by me Furthermore he argued that since I was earning such a high salary, $2,000 would be a relatively insignificant amount This experience led me to reflect on the perceived socioeconomic position my informants had of me If they had considered me to be a potential source of loans, it would be sensible on my part to re-evaluate the credibility of their accounts regarding the exigencies stemming from the realities of lower-income livelihood, as they would then have an incentive to exaggerate the negative impacts encountered in an attempt to appeal

to my sympathies I thus took efforts to reiterate my occupation as a full-time student without an income in order to dispel any assumptions about the amount of financial resources I had at my disposal

2.3.4 The Dearth of Female Perspectives

The most obvious limitation about the sample population and analyses of this thesis is the lack of data from female LIMM gamblers Anecdotal information revealed

that LIMM women were active members of Senomans or rotating capital associations in

which they regularly drew on for financial support A noteworthy observation was that

despite claiming that gambling among LIMM women was a widespread phenomenon, as most of my LIMM informants attested to having seen them queuing to buy bets at Singapore Pools outlets, it was extremely rare for them to actually encounter a female Malay-Muslim gambler in any of the informal and illicit gambling settings that they usually frequent Even on those exceptional occasions, the women were normally accompanying their male partners to the turf club or the casino It was, however, more common for them to see Chinese females When I asked my informants for their opinion

on why female Malay-Muslim gamblers enjoyed such a lack of visibility, they unanimously concluded that the stigma for female gamblers was much greater

That time I saw one Kak Tudung tengah beli 4-D [a female donning the Hijab

purchasing a lottery ticket]… Dia keluar aje kita semua pekik “Oh kak, nak main

judi bukak tudung la!” [When she came out of the store, my friends and I

shouted “Hey Sister, if you want to gamble, why don‟t you just take off your

scarf!”]

(Wahab)

If my wife gamble, I tak suka la [won‟t be happy about it] of course… All these

Kakak [Malay women] gamble because they need money… kesian diorang kena

buat barang haram macam ni, aku buat sudah dia tak payah [it is pitiful that they

have to engage in such sinful activity, I‟d rather I do it myself and not my wife]

(Fakir) Thus an interesting line of analysis to follow up on would be the gendered dimension of Malay-Muslim gamblers

Carol Stack, (1974: 129) 3.1 Debunking the „Paradoxes‟ of Gambling Behavior among Lower-Income Groups

This chapter will begin by advancing a conceptual approach to the gambling practices of lower-income groups that goes beyond commonly held assumptions that their participation is motivated mainly by either “false hope” or a certain pathological

“irrationality” Such explanatory labels, particularly the latter, have been growing in fashion as gambling becomes increasingly defined as a middle-class “problem” rather than solely belonging to the lower classes, which according to Conrad and Schneider (1992: 275), raises the probability for society in general to accept that a deviant act may

be medically treated However, it will be contended that such explanations neglect two important contextual factors affecting the decision-making processes in gambling; firstly, the capacity for gambling to function as a nexus for lower-income gamblers to translate social capital into economic capital and secondly, those ethno-class exigencies that impose a great deal of strain on resources and ultimately hinder the long-term efforts taken by lower-income racial minorities such as LIMMs to improve their social positions

In Singapore, the findings of a report on gambling by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) also reflected a similar trend as 80% of those earning an average monthly salary of below $1000 spent up to 10% of their incomes on bets, which was the highest betting amount-to-income proportion amongst all the income brackets surveyed (Hong, 2008) Coupled with the staunch belief that the „house always

wins‟, such gambling participation by the lower income groups have generally been deemed as paradoxical behavior and simplistically explained away as an irrational hope

of striking it rich (Ibid) A recent statement by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan further expressed the view that the pursuit of gambling for reasons other than „leisure‟ is an innately pathological „irrationality‟:

" if you think that through gambling you can make a living, make a killing or beat the odds, do

not do that Whether there will be more problems, whether there is a casino or no casino, people

still want to gamble, and people will still want to get into trouble.”

- (ChannelNewsAsia, 2010; emphasis mine)

As for the scientific literature on gambling behavior, cognitive psychologists employ the use of probability theories to factually posit that the law of large numbers always dictates

a positive outcome for the organizer and a negative one for the player (Wagenaar, 1988: 3) Thus by persisting to gamble despite facing “systematic and certain losses” individual gamblers reveal their inherent tendencies to self-delude and construct false perceptions, which are constantly exploited and encouraged by the commercial „designers of gambling‟ (Ibid)

In sum, gambling is generally conceived of as a bounded economic transaction which consists of mainly the (1) gambler and (2) the person (or organization) accepting the wager, and where finances are mostly transferred uni-directionally from the former to the latter Such understandings about the flow of resources involved in gambling interactions tend to be hermeneutically sterile and highly de-contextualized, as they are mostly derived from statistical „laws‟ that neglect the networks of capital that flow

through and beyond the immediate context of the betting process In other words, the

social networks that support gambling activities are very extensive and are intertwined with almost every other social sphere of a gambler‟s lived reality

In the field of social sciences, little scholarly attention has been given to qualitatively understanding the relationship between gambling and working class social realities Hitherto, the prominent works that have contributed towards shedding light on this area of research have generally regarded gambling as fulfilling social and psychological „safety valve‟ functions for working class men and women (Zola, 1963; Herman, 1967; Casey, 2008) Most of these studies were also conducted within a specific isolated setting, such as bingo halls, taverns and horseracing tracks, which restricted their

analyses from exploring how the resources involved in gambling indirectly extended to

their wider social networks as well as other broader aspects of their lives, such as consumption and the management of finances

Gamblers are thus social actors „embedded‟ (Granovetter, 1985) within interpersonal networks where roles and relationships are dynamic and highly dependent

on the flow of the resources that are constantly in circulation This especially holds true for the working-class informal gambling networks encountered in the course of collecting data for this study as they possess more direct and sustained links to their local social environment with operations based mainly on reciprocal trust and face-to-face

interaction Not only did all twenty-three gamblers interviewed borrow money from

friends, family, colleagues, illicit moneylenders and other gamblers, but they also reported using at least one-third of their winnings to finance the consumption of members

of their social circle; such as the purchase of gifts in the form of household items and food Although the majority of the winnings are either used to buy additional bets or repay existing debts, it was interesting to note that almost all informants admitted that they would not have otherwise been able to afford most of the products and services

purchased with winnings from bets A quote from Shabir, a thirty-year old taxi driver, explicitly clarifies how and why this is so:

Once I only had $12.50 in my pocket in Genting [a casino in Malaysia]… it was my first time there I used it to play jackpot [slot machines]… just try only… to finish up my money…I end up winning $200! I thought that was my night, so I used that money to play poker where I won $5,000 I tell you, that night was a good night…after that I bought new shoes and sponsored my mother and father to go Jakarta Every month the money I earn from taxi go straight into my medication, bills and food Where got enough

to go holiday? I go to Genting that time also my friend sponsored… If I only drive taxi, I

can just stay at home only la

As this statement had appeared in one of my first interviews, I initially presumed that Shabir may have been employing a form of “contingency of charity” (Tan, 1995: 16), which was a concept based on one of Sykes and Matza‟s (1957) techniques of neutralization called the “appeal to loyalties” Tan explains that it was highly possible for some gamblers to “assert that his/her action was permissible or even right since it served the interests of another to whom they owe an unbreakable allegiance or affection” (ibid) Granted, although the “interests” served by Shabir‟s gambling seem less altruistic than the “loyalties” Sykes and Matza were referring to as it was mainly his own perceived

“right” to consume products and services, such as overseas holidays, they nonetheless would have otherwise been unobtainable for him and his family should they rely solely

on their salaries

Nevertheless, Shabir‟s justification raised a meaningful analytical theme whose pursuit in the course of subsequent interviews garnered encouragingly positive results as all informants expressed a perceived difficulty when attempting to obtain legitimate sources of credit Rocky, a 49 year old father of two teenagers, described the impracticability of accessing capital through mainstream financial institutions:

My pay every month [one] thousand two [hundred]… sometimes thousand five… How to borrow from bank? Must fill up form, get guarantor some more… Not easy… I try to

fight [gamble] first… then ask friends and family… if not can pawn la or go tai long [illegal moneylenders]… no other choice, other places can forget it la… they only lend

you if you got money, but if I got money, why would I want to borrow from them? Upon conducting triangulative fieldwork to further substantiate Rocky‟s statements, I concluded that his claims were valid to a large extent At the time of writing, none of the

6 local banks offered cash loans to applicants with monthly incomes below $1,600, which was the lower minimum Applicants with monthly incomes of $2,500 and above also

have lesser conditions to fulfill than the former group; these include higher monthly

interest rates and minimum payment amounts Apparently, apart from the handful of avenues listed above, there were extremely few, if not, a total absence of licit “lower-income friendly” alternatives available in Singapore society A consultation with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) revealed just a couple of possible choices left for lower-income earners to borrow cash capital; the pawnbroker services provided by the Singapore Post, or legal moneylenders When these two options were suggested during interviews, the informants either expressed ignorance about their existence or a certain fear of the consequences accompanying the inability to repay the loan Hashim, a 32 year old odd-job labourer vehemently retorted:

My salary every month not enough, if I pawn, I will pawn until I have nothing to sleep on Sometimes if I win, I got money… or if someone wins and gives me money Not every time like this… If I don‟t have money to pay them [legal moneylenders], either go court, or lose my house I rather do “project” [informal jobs] for my friend or wait until I

win money [from gambling]… if really no money, borrow from ah long… at least if I don‟t pay ah long I won‟t lose my house or go to jail If they disturb me too much, I can call the police But if I borrow from ah long, I will surely repay… sometimes late… always repay…don‟t make ah long too angry with you, police can‟t protect you all the

time

Apparently, a general consensus exists among my informants that their immediate social networks, winnings from gambling and informal economic activities as the most feasible

alternatives for obtaining cash loans The next preferred source of supplementary or emergency income resides in illicit spheres, whose conditions for lending and repayment seem to offer my informants a degree of flexibility that the irregular nature of their incomes demands In fact when the consequences for defaulting on payments between licit and illicit loans are compared, my informants actually perceive the former as being more detrimental Although they admit the harassment from illegal moneylenders, or

“loansharks”, can be very humiliating and tormenting, it still pales in comparison to the severity of being sent to jail, or even losing one‟s home, which they believe is the fate that would befall them if they were to borrow legal loans; should they even qualify for them to begin with Thus, the barriers that keep lower-income earners from accessing mainstream financial channels for loans appear to be mutually reinforcing, with the

“supply” side imposing loan-approval criteria that favour “middle-income” applicants while those that potentially “demand” the services generally perceive them as unfeasible

In reference to the array of my informants‟ preferred practices for making ends meet, such as the mobilization of resources through one‟s networks of friends and family, engaging in gambling activities or utilizing those informal economic opportunities that emerge from their gambling-centered networks, it will be argued that gambling serves to

not only connect these various methods but also as the impetus for the circulation of

resources between them This is because at the fundamental level, gambling constitutes a significant factor in generating the “demand” for, as well as the “supply” of resources that function to sustain those reciprocal and non-reciprocal relations of support present within their social networks The following section will elaborate on the intricacies behind such a system, primarily with regards to the ethnically infused process of actively

converting and managing their social, cultural and financial forms of capital in a continual effort to support consumption as well as expand social networks

3.2 Gambling as a Nexus of Social and Economic Capital

Studies by Casey (2008) and Light (1977) have indicated that common perceptions about the impact of gambling on the financial resources of lower-income

gamblers have grossly underestimated its capacity to directly and indirectly generate

capital, especially for the purposes of supporting or even augmenting consumption They examined how the financial resources involved in gambling significantly impacted the broader and everyday economic strategies of the working class individuals in their study

Casey‟s (2008) exploration of the meanings that working class women imputed into their winnings and the ways in which they were spent was crucial in illuminating how the finances involved in gambling were closely intertwined and “firmly rooted in their everyday, domestic routines” and budget management All her interviewees were quoted to have:

never admitted to spending their winnings on themselves… bought „things for the house‟, namely furniture and… to pay off debts and bill In all of these women‟s cases, winning medium amounts of money on the National Lottery is seen as a real means of alleviating some of their daily concerns which are the result of their relative poverty (ibid: 72)

Casey (ibid: 73) argues that such data confirms the claims made by Reith (1999) and Bell (1911) who similarly interpreted gambling by women from poor households as an earnest endeavour at making a “difficult financial situation easier”

In addition, amidst the dearth of studies that attempt to understand gambling in such a relatively “economically positive” manner, Light‟s (1977: 896) groundbreaking research on numbers gambling among members of poor black communities provides an

in-depth examination of how betting on numbers, with average returns of about fifty percent of total wagers, constitutes a form of “rational economic activity” and an important “means of personal savings” and “investment” for those living in circumstances which are so impoverished that the recurring and excessive strain on finances renders the act of saving small amounts of money virtually impossible The occasional winning bet therefore serves to convert “change into lump sums” that would have been extremely difficult to accumulate “with the continuing clamor of unmet needs”

However, although Light‟s wider empirical scope implies that his analysis may be more generalizable to the financial situations of lower-income groups at large, this study will critically evaluate his conclusion, which states that the practice of using numbers gambling in coping with the “chronic malfunction of mainstream financial institutions” was “wasteful” and unsatisfactory in comparison to rotating credit associations (RCAs), which were another form of financial improvisation by urban blacks (Light, 1977: 901) Such RCAs are defined as informal financial institutions that utilize:

a model in which individuals save for an indivisible durable consumption good… which distribute funds using random allocation and bidding… and allow individuals without access to credit markets to improve their welfare (Besley, Coat and Loury, 1993: 792)

While Light convincingly posited that RCAs are ultimately more “efficient” than numbers gambling for ameliorating the financial strains experienced by the poor, I argue that by perceiving the resources channeled to lost bets as a “waste”, he overlooks the existence of a positive secondary upshot for individuals who are able to generate additional income from gambling‟s related and ancillary activities This is especially