Cockfighting betting - a new "problem" in rural areas.
In the past, during National Day or the Lunar New Year, people in my hometown would flock to the village stadium to watch cockfights. The owners of the winning roosters only received a small prize from the organizers and applause from the audience, but they were still very excited. However, in the last five years, cockfighting competitions in my hometown have transformed into gambling.
In the past, during National Day or the Lunar New Year, people in my hometown would flock to the village stadium to watch cockfights. The owners of the winning roosters only received a small prize from the organizers and applause from the audience, but they were still very excited. However, in the last five years, cockfighting competitions in my hometown have transformed into gambling.
Throughout the villages, many families are competing to raise fighting roosters, both for sale and to participate in cockfights within and outside the commune to earn money through gambling. Currently, not only in my commune but also in many communes in Yen Thanh district, numerous cockfighting arenas have sprung up. Each arena usually has 1-2 pairs of fighting roosters. The participants in this gambling activity are diverse, but mainly consist of teenagers, middle-aged people, and some retired civil servants. The betting amount depends on each person's budget, but the lowest starting price is 100,000 VND. This "betting" amount is constantly increased according to the challenges of the participants. For the owners of the winning roosters, they receive two sums of money simultaneously: the money paid by the losing opponent and about 10-15% of the total amount paid by the "winners". Watching a cockfight at a friend's house in LT commune, I was shocked and worried to see so many high school students enthusiastically participating. Some lost all their tuition money in the gambling and went home crying, not daring to tell their parents. Only when their parents returned from a parent-teacher meeting did they realize that their children had been skipping school to gamble because they were afraid of being asked for tuition by the teacher and not having the money to pay. There were also many husbands who stole money from their wives to gamble, losing everything, and when they came home, they were scolded by their wives, leading to arguments and fights that affected their family happiness. Since these cockfighting rings started operating, petty theft in the area has steadily increased. As a result, many students have neglected their studies, and many husbands have neglected their farming duties. It is time for local authorities and parents in Yen Thanh district to actively intervene to promptly prevent and curb the problem of cockfighting gambling.
Nguyen Tam Quang -(Yen Thanh Military Command)