A decline in rubber price increases digit-lottery gambling in Mudon

March 20, 2015

Mudon
Gambling on 2-digit and 3-digit lottery tickets has increased this month amongst residents from Kamarwat, Ka Log Tauce, Taung Boe, Phel Do and Kaw Pee Htaw villages in Mudon Township, Mon State, however, according to a local villager, police have not taken legal action against the gamblers.

Phel Do resident Nai Shwe stated, “The Ka Log Tauce villagers have been gambling on digit-lottery tickets as much as they like; they even bet ten thousand kyat on a single ticket. The digit-lottery seller can only accept a maximum bet of 2,000 kyat, but they can contact other sellers to satisfy the gambler. Villagers bet on credit, and are later deep in debt. Neither the police nor the New Mon State Party (NMSP) have arrested digit-lottery sellers, so it seems they are also getting a profit from the digit-lottery.”

The government has announced that all types of gambling would be eliminated, however, no gamblers have been arrested this year. The latest arrest took place last year, while digit-lottery gambling has risen sharply since early this year.
Villagers have lost properties due to digit-lottery gambling, with some hitting rock bottom and forced to flee their native homes to work abroad.

“My mother has 14 million kyat in debt due to betting on digit-lottery. She has children and they had to pay off her debt; it was very troublesome. A Taung-Bo villager was bother a seller and gambler of digit-lottery and eventually became so deep in debt he/she had to flee to Thailand for work. Time passes, but digit-lottery gamblers and sellers still exist. At the moment, the price of rubber has sharply declined and the number of sellers and gamblers has increased more and more,” said Nai Shwe.

This year, a large number of villagers make their livelihoods selling lottery tickets, while some rely solely on the lottery business for their livelihoods. The seller can conduct their business and sell lottery tickets openly in the village market, at tea shops, and even on the phone.

According to a local resident, the main cause of the growing gambling in Mudon is due to the sharply decreasing rubber price, as most of the residents in Mudon Township rely mainly on the rubber trade and industry for their livelihoods, while only a few residents rely on the agribusiness.

Last year, in Mon State, one pound of the highest quality rubber slice valued at 780 kyat, but now the price has fallen to 610 kyat, while sun-dried rubber has fallen to 430 kyat per pound.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News