The council is partnering the Education Ministry and other agencies to train school counsellors to help students addicted to gambling, among other vices.

The agencies plan to involve 160 to 180 counsellors from secondary schools and Institute of Technical Education.

The council is ramping up efforts to curb problem gambling among youth, including those in the workforce, calling the approach 'pre-emptive'.

It comes after a recent government survey found Singaporeans are starting to test their luck at a younger age.

Approximately 75 per cent of those surveyed who have gambled in the past year, started when they were 24 years old or younger. This is up from just 63 per cent in a similar survey done in 2005.

Read the full version of the story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.