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Mizzima: Illegal gambling widesprea
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Illegal gambling widespread in Burma
Rangoon, April 24, 2001
By Sein Win, Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
Illegal gambling business has mushroomed throughout Burma and some
observers say that the ruling regime, by neglecting the growing illegal
business and in fact encouraging it in some ways, is diverting the
people?s interest from politics to day-to-day struggle.
Gambling and betting are at present widely spread both in major cities
such as Rangoon, Mandalay, Prome and the border areas. The authorities,
receiving kickbacks and bribes, are pleased to stay as a mute spectator
to this growing illegal business, which has been steadily destroying the
spirit of the people.
?Chai-hti? which is taken from the last three-digits of Thai legal
lottery prize, ?Hnna-lone-hti? which is from the last two-digits of
Burma?s legal Fifty-lakh lottery prize, ?Lay-kong-gin? which is a
gambling game played with top at the four sides bearing pictures of four
animals and ?Soccer betting? are major illegal gambling widespread in
Burma.
?We get busy on those days when ?Chai-hti? and ?Hnna-lone hti? are
declared. Gambling agents deposit or withdraw their huge amount of
money, hundred or thousand lakhs on those days,? said a staff from Asia
Wealth Bank, which is the biggest private bank in Burma.
The poor, vendors, government staffs, rich people, etc all are involved
in this lottery gambling and betting. A staff from the Yangon City
Development Council (YCDC) told this correspondent that everybody in her
family does lottery gambling. ?My whole family play lottery. We
sometimes won and then spent it. When we lose, we are broke?, she
continued. ?As the construction business which was a good business till
a few years ago has fallen now, my income (through bribe) has fallen as
well and we staffs in the Yangon City Development Council (YCDC) now a
days are busy ourselves exchanging lottery numbers?, she said.
In this gambling business, some Buddhist monks have surfaced to be able
to give ?right? lottery numbers and they are famous with many followers.
?Some won and some lost. They won?t have an interest like that in
Dhama?, said a monk from New Dagon township.
In Rangoon alone, there are at least ten gambling umpires, which have
several agents who work and in turn get the commission. The gambling
dens get protection from police by bribing (call ?line-kyay? or Hafta
money) the authorities.
?It has been very good in recent months. I always give ?line-kyay? to
the authorities such as division, district and township police and
intelligence agencies. I never get arrested. At least they send me a
massage before they come to raid. It cost me about twenty-five thousand
kyats per month as ?line-kyay?, he continued. ?You can see the sellers
of Cha-hti and Hnna-lone-Hti everywhere even in the military compound
and police station?.
There are many people who dislike the situation as the illegal gambling
has become daily business for the people. ?I am really worried that
people are everyday involved in this gambling. It is like in those days
of King Thi-Baw age when the King himself encouraged the people to bet?,
said an elderly citizen who survives on a small shop in Rangoon.
The cease-fire groups such as Wa and Kokant own the major part of the
gambling business. They transform their black money (heroin money) into
legal ?white? money through these gambling businesses.
Some say that the military regime is skillfully deceiving the people by
throwing them into the gambling-whirlpool so that the people are not
involved in politics.
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<center><b><u><font color="#3333FF"><font size=+2>Illegal gambling widespread
in Burma</font></font></u></b></center>
<p><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>Rangoon, April 24, 2001</font></font>
<br><font color="#FF0000"><font size=+1>By Sein Win, Mizzima News Group
<a href="http://www.mizzima.com";>(www.mizzima.com)</a></font></font>
<p><font size=+1>Illegal gambling business has mushroomed throughout Burma
and some observers say that the ruling regime, by neglecting the growing
illegal business and in fact encouraging it in some ways, is diverting
the people?s interest from politics to day-to-day struggle.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Gambling and betting are at present widely spread both
in major cities such as Rangoon, Mandalay, Prome and the border areas.
The authorities, receiving kickbacks and bribes, are pleased to stay as
a mute spectator to this growing illegal business, which has been steadily
destroying the spirit of the people.</font>
<p><font size=+1>?<i>Chai-hti</i>? which is taken from the last three-digits
of Thai legal lottery prize, ?<i>Hnna-lone-hti</i>? which is from the last
two-digits of Burma?s legal Fifty-lakh lottery prize, ?<i>Lay-kong-gin</i>?
which is a gambling game played with top at the four sides bearing pictures
of four animals and ?<i>Soccer betting</i>? are major illegal gambling
widespread in Burma.</font>
<p><font size=+1>?We get busy on those days when ?<i>Chai-hti</i>? and
?<i>Hnna-lone hti</i>? are declared. Gambling agents deposit or withdraw
their huge amount of money, hundred or thousand lakhs on those days,? said
a staff from Asia Wealth Bank, which is the biggest private bank in Burma.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The poor, vendors, government staffs, rich people, etc
all are involved in this lottery gambling and betting. A staff from the
Yangon City Development Council (YCDC) told this correspondent that everybody
in her family does lottery gambling. ?My whole family play lottery. We
sometimes won and then spent it. When we lose, we are broke?, she continued.
?As the construction business which was a good business till a few years
ago has fallen now, my income (through bribe) has fallen as well and we
staffs in the Yangon City Development Council (YCDC) now a days are busy
ourselves exchanging lottery numbers?, she said.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In this gambling business, some Buddhist monks have surfaced
to be able to give ?right? lottery numbers and they are famous with many
followers. ?Some won and some lost. They won?t have an interest like that
in Dhama?, said a monk from New Dagon township.</font>
<p><font size=+1>In Rangoon alone, there are at least ten gambling umpires,
which have several agents who work and in turn get the commission. The
gambling dens get protection from police by bribing (call ?<i>line-kyay</i>?
or <i>Hafta</i> money) the authorities.</font>
<p><font size=+1>?It has been very good in recent months. I always give
?<i>line-kyay</i>? to the authorities such as division, district and township
police and intelligence agencies. I never get arrested. At least they send
me a massage before they come to raid. It cost me about twenty-five thousand
kyats per month as ?<i>line-kyay</i>?, he continued. ?You can see the sellers
of <i>Cha-hti</i> and <i>Hnna-lone-Hti </i>everywhere even in the military
compound and police station?.</font>
<p><font size=+1>There are many people who dislike the situation as the
illegal gambling has become daily business for the people. ?I am really
worried that people are everyday involved in this gambling. It is like
in those days of King Thi-Baw age when the King himself encouraged the
people to bet?, said an elderly citizen who survives on a small shop in
Rangoon.</font>
<p><font size=+1>The cease-fire groups such as Wa and Kokant own the major
part of the gambling business. They transform their black money (heroin
money) into legal ?white? money through these gambling businesses.</font>
<p><font size=+1>Some say that the military regime is skillfully deceiving
the people by throwing them into the gambling-whirlpool so that the people
are not involved in politics.</font>
<p> </html>
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