Sports betting is a kind of gambling and everyone knows that gambling is morally wrong and it can lead to deaths, family quarrels, family breakups, crime and fighting.

Yes, gambling is part and parcel of the Chinese culture some may say, but many have also seen the destruction that it causes. Gambling can be compared to drug addiction, whereby there can be no control over one's addiction.

It all started casually and out of curiosity, just like smoking and taking drugs. Small bets will eventually turn into bigger bets and with most cases greed will set in. Once you are addicted to gambling, there is no stopping.

You will have to find ways to find the money for your gambling habit. First you go to is your family, than your friends, then the ‘ah long’ and when these are all exhausted you will start to commit crime.

There are only two ways that can stop you from gambling and that is either when you are dead or when land yourself in jail.

PM Najib can give whatever excuse for legalising sports betting but no one in his/her right mind will agree with him. Legalised sports betting to curb illegal gambling is no excuse so why not legalise prostitution to curb illegal prostitution and this also can control all kinds of sex-related diseases?

Legalised sports betting to help fill the government’s emptying coffers is no excuse. Just because the government is going bankrupt, the people's well-being is thrown aside. Is this what Najib meant by his ‘1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now’?.

Do not argue that legalised gambling is already in existence in this country. By weighing the pros and cons of gambling, Najib should not encourage gambling by issuing more licenses. Instead he should be looking for ways to reduce them.

So my fellow Malaysians, enjoy watching the World Cup but stay clear from PM Najib's encouragement of sports betting. You will live a longer, better and healthier life without sports betting.