Gambling at funerals is becoming a more serious problem in Myanmar, where gangs and dishonest officials are turning this custom into a crime and affecting the moral fiber of families and society.
As widespread gambling activities undermine traditional mourning customs, Myanmar’s burial culture is confronting hitherto unheard-of difficulties. While sad family members grieve close by, scores of gamblers converge on a funeral in Yangon’s eastern neighborhood of Halingthaya, absorbed in intense and exciting card games. In addition to upsetting friends and family, this phenomena exposes underlying moral and economic problems in Myanmar culture.
Funerals in Myanmar have progressively turned into multi-day gambling frenzy in recent years, particularly in light of the country’s economic downturn and the breakdown of the rule of law. In order to transform the funeral into a gambling event, gamblers occasionally come to agreements with the deceased’s family. According to one family member, they spent 700,000 kyats, or around 110 USD, to let gamblers play at the burial. Despite being unusual in the past, some families now use these behaviors as a survival tactic in the face of Myanmar’s current economic crisis.
According to reports, these gambling activities, which are customarily meant to assist the family in sharing their pain, frequently occur on the seventh day following the funeral when friends and family members play cards to kill time. But as time has gone on, gambling’s scope and character have evolved, and participants’ identities have grown more nuanced. In certain instances, gang members even participate, which heightens the anxiety and peril in an already depressing environment.
Myanmar’s 2019 gaming law prohibits gambling and permits arrests by police without a warrant. Police and local officials, however, frequently decide to ignore the problem or even take bribes. In order to guarantee the proper operation of the events, contractors who plan them usually pay specific fees to the local police and district officials. Funeral gambling has become commonplace as a result of these practices, which raises questions about Myanmar’s legal system.
Since many families are dealing with severe financial strain in addition to the loss of loved ones, the economic crisis has made this phenomena more widespread. Making money out of a relative’s passing appears to have become a survival decision for some families. It is a sad fact that poor families are compelled to look for financial advantage from the deaths of their loved ones, according to a Halingthaya charity worker.
Additionally, violent occurrences resulting from gambling at funerals are not unusual. A recent accusation of cheating nearly led to the death of a player. Despite the participants’ horror, many families continue to collaborate with contractors to carry out these upsetting practices because of their financial situation. In the current economic circumstances, one family member acknowledged that they had no other option, even though they are aware of the possible risks associated with gambling.
This problem has a detrimental effect on society at large in addition to affecting families’ moral standards. Because of poverty, more and more families are choosing to gamble at funerals, putting Myanmar’s social structure and morals to the test. The combined forces of economic hardship and corruption have warped this practice, making it a social hazard, even in spite of explicit legal restrictions against gambling.
In Myanmar, the practice of gambling at funerals is a wake-up call that brings to light the crucial question of how to preserve moral standards while honoring customs. Finding better ways to lessen the recurrence of this phenomenon will be a top priority in the future as economic conditions evolve.
