Most Singaporeans will turn to their families for help on gambling-related problems and almost half will apply for casino exclusion orders to ban the person from visiting the casino.

These are among the key findings in a follow-up survey carried out by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), which showed that the majority of Singaporeans still view gambling as potentially harmful and are aware of the signs of problem gambling and where to seek help.

But the survey, through face-to-face interviews with 2,013 Singapore residents aged 15 to 75, at their homes between April and May, also raised some potential concerns.

For example, more Singaporeans view the softer forms of gambling - Singapore Sweep, 4D, Toto, social gambling - as leisure activities rather than gambling activities.

"They viewed gambling as a good way of social bonding among friends, felt that there was nothing wrong with gambling and thought that gambling was a fun and entertaining form of recreation," said the report, which was released on Monday.

"There were also increases in the proportion of Singaporeans who felt that it was possible to win lots of money if one had the right gambling skills, that one must not be afraid to take risks when gambling and that it made sense to continue gambling to win back the losses after losing money in gambling."

More worryingly, the report noted that more Singaporeans "felt that it was possible to win lots of money if one had the right gambling skills, that one must not be afraid to take risks when gambling and that it made sense to continue gambling to win back the losses after losing money in gambling."

At the same time, fewer Singaporeans "agreed that gambling addiction could be very addictive and that gambling addiction could be effectively treated.

"The proportion of Singaporeans who thought that gambling had a negative impact on family had also decreased," added the report.

The 2007 survey, which is a follow-up to the baseline study carried out by the council in 2006 as part of its public education efforts, included a new question on family exclusion orders for the casinos.

Almost half of the respondents (47 per cent) said they would apply for casino exclusion orders to ban family members with gambling problems.

This is in sharp contrast to the response in the public consultation on this issue earlier this year which revealed that families would consider such a step "very carefully and as a last resort," said the NCPG.

Summing up the 2007 survey, the report said it indicated that awareness of the gambling problem and the helplines available has significantly increased from the baseline study carried out in 2006 as part of the NCPG's public education efforts.

"Both surveys found that the large majority of Singaporeans felt that more should be done to address problem gambling in Singapore in terms of helping those with gambling problems and educating the public on problem gambling, and that gambling will increase the social problems in Singapore is we do nothing now," concluded the report.