Shaming the game

Illegal gambling is notoriously hard to stamp out, because it is usually socially acceptable. A Philippine anti-gambling group wants to change that. From INQ7:

A man from a remote barangay in Central Luzon unwittingly placed a bet on “jueteng,” the underground lottery so despised by the clergy in his area.

He didn’t win the pot, but got an unenviable prize just the same: The infamy of having his name displayed at the local chapel as a “sugalero” (gambler).

A new movement formed by antigambling advocate, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, is planning a similar shame campaign to discourage people from gambling, whether legal or illegal.

“We would like our chapters to come up with their own creative approach against gambling,” he said yesterday in a press conference launching the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Sugal.

The new group was the archbishop’s answer to what he called the Arroyo administration’s relentless promotion of a “gambling culture” in the country.

Shame campaign vs gambling planned - INQ7.net

Like you, I wondered what a barangay is. It’s something like a village or ward.

Maybe this’ll work, but I think that it only have a chance if “sugalero” has negative cultural connotations. In the US, it’s doubtful that most people would find being called a “gambler” a mark of shame; Kenny Rogers, at least, embraces the label.