Don't Bet On It

One day I'm gonna lose all my loyal readers with the way I update this blog as and when I can haha..... For those of you who stuck by me, I have no idea why you do it.....but I appreciate it ;)

Yeah....so I'm a little way behind on my book review....FYI I have finished one....for Feb but I haven't written it (Maybe the next entry....so for those who dont like book review, come back in another 2 months) And I am one behind for March...ick...

Anyway....my grouse for the combined entry of March and early April comes from my daily morning drive to work.....Radio adverts.....50% have got the customary fake laughter that seems odd and out of place to end a commercial (I mean seriously....who ends a general conversation with laughter without a real joke to precede it?? I wonder where these advertisers get their input from). 10% of commercial time lands on some air conditioner advertisement that sounds a little like "We've got YUCK....have you?" Grammatical erroneous, cheap production, and makes me not want to get it anyway. But lately the one that really ticks me off is some bank advertisement where the 2 kids seem to out smart their dad in ALL the bank promotions and now even entice dad to start an account with the bank so that they will win prizes from the periodic draw....

Now it's not so much the advert that I'm gonna give my 2 cents worth but the content of it....

Here is a bank.....that encourages you to save (that's a good thing), by giving you an entry ticket to a lucky draw for every RM100 saved. So there more you save the more tickets you have for the draw. No need to fill up any other forms. No need to answer any questions or make a creative slogan. No need to collect multiple coupons. No effort needed.....just put in the money and wait for the bank to announce your name as a winner. Probability in winning? No odds stated, but the more you deposit, the higher your chances.

Here's some snippet...

I love the line......"who knows, you could be our next winner"

So we have an element of randomness.....so all the tickets from the RM100 a person invests is still not guaranteed even a participation prize.....just a "who knows" chance.....cool....

Wait...there's more

How does it benefit you? Why...by enjoying the PROBABILITY of receiving valuable cash prizes....

Kind of like playing Russian roulette..... how does Russian Roulette benefit you, one might ask....why, you may ENJOY the PROBABILITY of living...... :)

And yet....there's more....

I abhor likes like these "subject to change at discretion". It's really likened to the children's song... "If you're happy and you know it....make a draw...". Even the frequency of a draw falls into a probability....

Yes.....I'm on a roll....

I admit.....perhaps I'm ignorant and can't see the relevance of the verse in context of allowing a randomized, not everyone wins draw to take place and lead people to believe it is not a form of gambling. From some reading, verse 44 seems to talk about having faith to believe in the miracle of the unseen and to believe in it even if one plays no part in the decision or outcome. So the bank's lucky draw is like a miracle of the unseen, where one is to accept the outcome or lack of outcome.....HUH???? Please someone help me through comments section....

And the icing of the cake....

Yes....the list of winners....Full names are published because it is the right of everyone to know who won it. Transparent. FYI....did you know winner no. 4 stays in Mersing, Johor. Sells Cosway with a published address, phone number and operating hours. And that's just on a simple Google search for his name and not an in depth search yet....Good thing he won RM1,000 and not the RM200,000. Otherwise he would have alot of new friends and relatives......and be subjected to have his kids taken from him.....

Only one good thing about this.....its a money back gamble.....in case your RM100 per ticket doesn't win you anything, you can withdraw the money and wait for the next promo.....

Otherwise, one would be better off going to the punters like Magnum4D (Disclaimer: No I am not condoning gambling) whereby
1. Your ticket starts at RM1.00 only
2. Your chances of winning are 1:9999 (That's better than 1 in 10,000)
3. Magnum doesn't simply reduce their frequency of draw
4. The prize has been fixed at a known quantum
5. They don't justify gambling.....they just tell you to play the game
6. Your identity is not known to everyone.....only the numbers to your winning ticket

scoff.....at least there is a chance for people to be exposed to islamic gambling bank draws *scoff* *scoff*