![]() ![]() He called these vices “absolutely pernicious in every degree” and claimed that they would lead to other crimes. Raffles was opposed to gaming and cockfighting, having abolished the farms in Bencoolen when he was Lieutenant-Governor from 1818 to 1824. 1 Revenue farming was the norm then – the government granted the successful bidder the monopoly right to control a specific trade or product in return for a fixed rent. ![]() Gaming and cockfighting were said to have been practised by the native inhabitants of Singapore and the early immigrants. Gambling games were traditional in China, while cockfighting was practised by the Chinese as well as Indian and Muslim societies. Several ordinances were enacted in the 19th century to deal with gambling rackets. Although the colony outlawed gambling a few years after Crawfurd left office in 1826, it was difficult to wipe out gambling activities entirely instead, illegal gambling dens flourished. Farquhar and Crawfurd implemented legalised gambling through gambling farms. In the 19th century, revenue farming was the common form of government taxation and control. Stamford Raffles abhorred it and set out to ban gambling, while Residents William Farquhar and John Crawfurd saw gambling as critical for generating revenue. Gambling activities, also known as gaming, in colonial Singapore attracted different opinions from the British administrators. ![]()
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