City should look to Las Vegas, Malaysia: Observer
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The following is the fifth and final in a series of articles on gambling in the capital, which continues to thrive despite being illegal. The administration should study the experiences of Las Vegas and Malaysia's Genting Highlands if it planned to legalize gambling in the city, a social observer says.
Any introduction of casinos had to be managed carefully to maximize public revenue, while minimizing the adverse impact on the community, Rashid Lubis said.
"Both the city and the nation can receive high profits from legalizing gambling. However, both need to enforce consistent rules. If Jakarta can tightly control the (casino) zoning then it will gain huge benefits while minimizing the negative impacts," he told The Jakarta Post.
Rashid was responding to Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's earlier comments that his administration was considering introducing limited legal gambling in the city.
When Las Vegas was first established as a city in the middle of a desert by its then 800 residents in 1911, it had not yet became the "Entertainment Capital of the World" or been dubbed the more raunchy "Sin City", Rashid said.
One of the key events in the history of the city, which now has a population of two million, was the legalization of gambling in 1931. State legislators in Nevada, where Las Vegas is located, agreed to legalize gambling, partly because they realized that outlawing it was unenforceable due to the existence of corrupt police and judges protecting illegal gambling activities, he said.
Even the United States National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which is critical of the detrimental social impact of gambling, acknowledged in its 1999 report that "gambling has made Las Vegas the fastest growing city (in the United States)", Rashid said.
Data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association, shows that more than 37 million visitors, including almost 5 million foreign tourists, visited the city in 2004, bringing in US$8.7 billion in revenue from gaming.
The Nevada Commission on Tourism says that taxes from gambling contribute annually to about one-third of the state's general revenue. The gambling industry, and the sectors supporting it, such as restaurants, travel and entertainment, were responsible for employing about 60 percent of Nevada's workers, Rashid said.
Malaysia, meanwhile, started applying zoning for gambling in Genting Highlands in 1971, giving a permit to businessman Lim Goh Tong to operate a casino in the area, he said.
The majority Muslim nation tightly monitors casino's visitors, who have to show their passports and identity cards at the front gate of the complex. All Muslims are refused entry.
According to The Far Eastern Economic Review, Lim Goh Tong's business become one of the most profitable in Malaysia with billions of U.S. dollars in revenue.
Macao, another international gambling hotspot, has reportedly absorbed around 60 percent of its money from high-rolling Indonesians, who, according to one big-time gambler, could splash out hundreds of billions of rupiah a night.
"(There are) around 150 Indonesian citizens, each of whom brings at least US$100,000, who visit Genting Highland each day. Imagine how much we lose in foreign reserves every day. By establishing legal casinos here, we can keep the money as well as attract foreign gamblers to the country," Rashid said.
However, Rashid acknowledged it would be hard to legalize casinos in the capital as many residents would oppose it.
On Thursday, the Students Alliance Against Gambling (AMAP) staged a rally at the City Council to publicize efforts to eradicate the crime.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, public order officers closed down four gambling centers; on Jl. Bandengan Utara in Penjaringan, Jl. Boulevard Barat in Kelapa Gading, Laguna Apartments in Pluit and a shop-house on Jl. Pluit Sakti.
The officers only managed to nab one gambling boss, identified as "Toni K", while the other organizers remain at large.