A large number of people interviewed by Lianhe Wanbao have expressed their concerns in spending money unnecessarily in the light of the economic downturn. They are wary of where their money goes to these days and have even deserted the idea of purchasing a "chance" at striking lottery.

And as the economy downturn begins to make its effect felt on Singapore, Singapore Pools is seeing less numbers of people betting on 4D and Toto.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that Singapore Pools had realised a downturn in the number of customers a couple of months ago and attributed this to the current global crisis and financial situation.

But Singapore Pools did not reveal the exact decrease in bets. It is also unclear as to how long this situation might persist.

27-year-old sales manager, Mr Tan said:"I usually spend $10 in 4D and Toto every week, but these days I only buy when I feel that the number might come out.

"I've never struck a prize before and now that times are hard, I only place my bets if the prize handouts are of a significant amount. I spend around $5 on bets now."

But a source quoted by Lianhe Wanbao said that more people have been turning to illegal 4D betting with bookies instead of going through Singapore Pools.

The reason for this is simple - punters have to fork out cash at Singapore Pools, but bookies allow them to bet on a credit basis. This means that no upfront cash payment is required, with the credit amount to be settled every month.

However, there is more loss than gain through illegal betting.

According to the Chinese evening daily's source, bookies are known to increase their commission rates without their customers' knowledge.

For the past few years, the commission was set at 5 per cent. This commission ensures that the underground operations continue and is somewhat like a service fee that customers pay to the bookies.

To their horror, this 5 per cent charge has been increased to 10 per cent without any prior warning.

This new commission rate that bookies draw from a punter's winnings can be quite significant.

For example, in August this year, one punter had won $150,000. After deducting 5 per cent from the winnings, the total prize amount should have been $142,500.

Who would have known that the rate was secretly increased to 10 per cent and the total winnings resulted to a mere $135,000 - an additional loss of $7,500.

The source said that although the punter had tried to "recover" his loss by confronting the bookie, he was told that "these are the regulations now and the money cannot be returned".

The customer had no choice but to comply.