Casinos carry the can

THE self-immolation of Peter Williams at Montecasino in July was just one of many cases of suicide by indebted and depressed gamblers in South Africa. But the desperation of his act, at the scene of his addiction, should disturb the complacency of the industry and its regulators.

Today we publish a report (on page 5) on the Williams case and local casino operators’ reluctance to intervene when compulsive gamblers are clearly in crisis. The casinos have all the tools and capacity to detect and help such customers — casinos are heavily monitored for signs of fraud — but the profits to be made from “high rollers” and ordinary addicts are a powerful incentive to do nothing.

The casinos protest that they do their duty by funding the widely respected National Responsible Gambling Programme, which manages helplines, educates the public and treats those who seek help. But that body is largely reactive: only the casinos themselves can intervene where it matters most.

Nobody is suggesting that casinos be outlawed: they are big employers and taxpayers, and the human appetite for risk and reward is so deepseated that gambling can never be stamped out. Banning it would only create an even more exploitative underworld.

It is true that most casino patrons are able to play within their means, and genuinely enjoy the occasional flutter. But the vast sums lost by South African casino gamblers — R17.2-billion in 2014 — suggest the industry’s cost to society may outweigh its economic benefits. The Department of Trade Industry is reviewing the regulatory framework and it would do well to insist that casinos start acting to protect the vulnerable. Doing so will cost them profits, but will save lives.