Singapore: From Casinos to Charities?

The idea is not novel. In Hong Kong, the Jockey Club Charities Trust launched a HK$380 million initiative for senior citizens in 1996 called Cadenza, which through training and public education programmes, was aimed at changing the way the public viewed the elderly.

Now it appears Singapore is mulling the idea of its casinos  channeling funds to help the aged. According to Ms Teresa Tsien, co-director of the Institute of Active Aging at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, this source of financing “could be a way for charities to seek an additional source of funding without depending too much on the government.”  She was reported to have said:

If this were to happen, these gaming operators could see that it is to their advantage and use this opportunity to practise their corporate social responsibility.

In Hong Kong, the Cadenza scheme also is said to have encouraged collaboration between organisations and the implementation of innovative elderly services and programmes.

According to Channel News Asia, Singapore’s Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has embarked on a similar programme designed as a first stop for the disabled, the elderly and their families seeking advice, referrals and financial aid.

The programme, called the Centre for Enabled Living (CEL), recently launched a SGD1 million Sustainable Enhancement for Eldercare and Disability fund for organisations that provide care services for CEL’s target groups on a project basis.

Notwithstanding resistance from some against obtaining funds from gaming operators, Ms Tsien was reported to have said, “We have to be self-reliant and face the reality that somehow you have to get the money from somewhere.” She was quoted as saying:

Furthermore, getting the casinos to be part of a community exercise could help down play the negative image … to know that you are doing some good even when you are gambling.

According to the news report, it is not uncommon for gaming operators in Singapore to donate to social causes. The Singapore Totalisator Board, for example, has been contributing to social and community causes using surplus funds from the operations of the Singapore Turf Club and Singapore Pools.

However, Bishop Robert Solomon, vice-president of the National Council of Churches Singapore (NCSS), told MediaCorp that people “might have a problem with the idea of commercial gaming companies offering donations for community services.”◊