Gambling and Asian Americans

by Chien-Chi Huang, Asian Community Program Manager
The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling

Someone once said to me, “Gambling to Asians is like drinking is to non-Asians.”  It is true that gambling is widely accepted in Asian communities, and many Asian people regard it as a harmless social, recreational activity.  However, gambling is not a risk-free activity and most do not recognize the social costs problem gambling inflict upon individuals, families, and the community at large.

I cringe every time I hear someone of Asian decent say, “Gambling is in my blood.”  Because of gambling's roots in the Asian culture, we may be more vulnerable to developing a problem with the activity than other ethnic groups.  We gamble at special occasions like birthdays, weddings, holidays and even funerals.  Mahjong is referred to as the “National Game” by many Chinese and is taught in the Chinese cultural camp. Many view casinos as the passage to adulthood and call them “playgrounds for grown ups.”  There  is a stand-alone category for “Asian gambling movies” and gambling is often portrayed as the “shortcut” to the path of becoming rich and famous in these films.

I once took a fieldtrip from Quincy, Massachusetts to Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on a weekday morning with two non-Asian colleagues.  Among the 38 bus riders, only five were non-Asians and most were men.  When I chatted with the floor manager, he told me that about 1/3 of the patrons at the casino are Asian Americans.  This is disproportionally high given the fact that the Asian American population is between 3-4% in MA, CT and NY.

As the Asian Community Program Manager at the Council, I see that one’s beliefs on luck and fate sometimes further elevate the level of denial and tolerance for suffering with gambling problems.  On top of that, stigma and shame prevent many Asian Americans from seeking support and proper treatment.  Raising public awareness of problem gambling and framing it as a public health matter is the first step toward engaging Asian American communities.

As May is the Asian American Heritage month, I implore all of my Asian American friends and colleagues to know their limits. If you are going to gamble, I hope that you do so safely, and if it becomes problematic, please know that we are here to help.