Problem Gamblers in Macau Reach Record High in H1 2024

Macau has been a historic conversion of chance and opportunity. The Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China has become a Las Vegas of Asia, at a time when China is not only firmly opposed to gambling, but also cracks down on illegal gambling operations overseas.

Macau Sees More Gambling Disorder Cases in H1 2024 Than Ever Before

Now, though, new data from Macau’s Central Registry System for Individuals with Gambling Disorders suggests that even the regulated sector is harming consumers, with the city’s number of registered cases of people with gambling disorders reaching 108 between January and June 2024.

This is 39 cases more than the period between January and June 2023. Although this may seem like a small increase, it is considerable when you consider the social stigma that is usually associated with gambling in China. It also points out that the services seeking to help people with a gambling disorder have also gotten better, and are overcoming such societal challenges, nevertheless.

Not least, China is keen to elicit as much data as it can to ensure that it better understands the triggers of problem gambling. A new study by the Lancet Public Health Commission has called for a global effort to tackle the adverse effects of increasingly available commercial gambling platforms.

The people who are the most likely to have a gambling disorder are those in the 30-39 age bracket. The majority of the people who reported gambling disorder – 69% – were employed, and 13% were unemployed, with the rest accounting for retirees, students, or stay-at-home parents or spouses.

Men continue to be the most commonly affected group of people, with 88% of men making up for all cases. Unmarried individuals were more likely to be affected than married ones, too, pointing out the beneficial effects of marriage in helping mitigate instances of problem gambling.

People Seek Out Gambling Due to Financial Struggles

Delving into the data further, only 4% of those who said they suffered from gambling disorders were employed by the industry, which shows resilience on the part of gambling workers. Optimistically, 56% of those who reported gambling disorders have said that their family members did not gamble at all.

Despite the negative association that gambling plays in Chinese culture, many people who end up with a gambling disorder, it seems, have first engaged in the activity in a bid to improve their financial situation. At least 24% of the individuals who reported having developed a gambling problem over the first six months of the year said that they had first sought the activity out of financial difficulties.

This was higher than the 21% who said that they engaged with gambling for entertainment, and 17% who said that it was a good stress relief option for them.