Research Stories

The economic boom in the Asia-Pacific has given rise to another boom: that of casinos. And with it has come concern over the problem of gambling addiction, particularly among Chinese. Dr Samson Tse Shu-ki has been studying the problem.

Are Chinese bigger gamblers than other ethnic groups? The conventional rule-of-thumb is that one or two per cent of any population is vulnerable to problem gambling, regardless of ethnicity. But one HKU researcher sees things differently.

Dr Samson Tse Shu-ki, Associate Professor of Social Work and Social Administration, has studied gambling in Chinese communities in Auckland, Singapore and Hong Kong, and seen evidence of a higher vulnerability to gambling.

Moreover, he points to emerging international research that shows Asians, particularly those in Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, are more vulnerable to gambling than Europeans, North Americans and Australians. Two rigorous studies on gambling in Hong Kong also found four to six per cent of adults were problem gamblers.

“There is a camp of people, including myself, who argue that particularly among Chinese, there is an elevated rate of gambling problems,” Dr Tse says.

"It’s a double-edged sword. If you want to reduce harm, you can’t just say ‘stop gambling’. You have to appreciate these other factors."

Dr Samson Tse Shu-ki

The full version of this article was originally published in Bulletin. Please click here to view this HKU publication.