Difference between Gambling and Investing

Gambling – It involves a game of chance where the money is put at risk with the aim of making a profit. The rules of the game are set by the banker where the odds are against the player. There is no tangible ownership of assets.

Investing – It involves putting the money in a tangible asset with the hope of making a profit after doing research. The investor takes calculated risk based on available research data and hope to expect good returns within a time horizon.

Both can result in profits or losses. But from observations of other successful people, investing is a better choice to prosper as the chances of making profits are higher.

Gambling is Not a Good Choice to Prosper

Recent news of a Singaporean businessman losing $26 million (about US$ 19 million) within 3 days of gambling in Resorts World Sentosa Casino had become the talk of the town. Many opinions and questions were circulating in forum pages. Gambling is a favorite activity for many people. The hope of winning a large sum of prize money to fulfill their dreams is a strong pulling factor that draws many to queue at lottery booths and travel to casinos. Some are casual gamblers while some become gambling addicts. In Singapore, 4D and Toto are the most popular gambling activities. You can see long queues at various booths on most days.

Reasons for ruling out gambling as a choice to prosper:

• In gambling, the odds are against the players. The bankers laid out the gaming rules to have a higher advantage over the players. For Toto, there is 1 chance in 8,145,060 of getting the Group 1 prize from choosing 6 unique numbers correctly out of 45. For 4D, there is 1 chance in 10,000 of winning the first prize for choosing 4 numbers which can be repeated.

• Prolong gambling will lead to addiction which will affect family life. Most gambling addicts are prone to become abusive to their spouses and children. I’d seen gamblers who won and lost again by betting more aggressively due to greed.

For those who like to gamble, I wish them well as some of the bets collected are channeled to government funded charities. Just hope that they don’t become addicts which are harmful.