Abolition of gambling in Bali

Abolition of gambling in Bali

From Bali Post

The idea of the regional police chief, Made Mangku Pastika, to abolish gambling in Bali deserves a thumbs-up. The thing is, I have lived in poverty due to my previous indulgence in gambling. Should this great ideal come true, I am sure future generations will be saved from the bad effects of gambling. In this context I would like to suggest some pragmatic ways that may lead, in the long run, to the abolition of gambling.

It should be noted that cockfights in Bali are traditionally linked to religious rites that are approved by the local authorities. At every cockfighting event, betting is involved.

The eradication of gambling, in my opinion, is like treating a wound. For the treatment of the wound to be more effective, the area of the wound should be enlarged so as to allow more medicine to react with it. The same seems to be true with cockfights or gambling. Let them be performed in a specially designated location (or locations), in regencies.

The location and events would be offered to the public through open bidding. It would not be surprising if someone were willing to pay hundreds of millions of rupiah, or even up to a billion rupiah, for a period of a year.

Those who came and gambled in the area would have to obtain some sort of entrance ticket and the money collected would substantially add to the local authority's revenue. Only known gamblers would be permitted to buy tickets. Newcomers, let alone teenagers, under whatever circumstances, would be strictly prohibited from entering the arena. Likewise, traders and vendors of any kind of merchandise would have to be carefully scrutinized.

I strongly believe that, in the long run, the younger generation might have little or no interest in gambling, particularly cockfighting, and might forget about it altogether. Thus, gambling in Bali could be abolished completely.

For all these programs to be carried out as planned, strong supervision would have to be imposed, involving the local pecalang (village guards) if necessary. However, it is a well- established tradition that cockfights, or rather "blood sacrifice" (known locally as tabuh rah), are considered part of temple rituals, without which the sanctity of the rituals is perceived to be much reduced. In this case, cockfights might be allowed, provided that the event did not exceed three bouts. Also, no betting would be allowed.

JRO NYOMAN SRIDANA WK, Buleleng, Bali