Against the odds
With Hongkongers spending billions annually on gambling, we look at how addicts think, and the growing science behind the problem
Terry Chau was 27 when he started gambling. At first it was just for fun - a few bets on the horses and soccer with friends. After 10 years he has lost more than HK$1 million - his girlfriend, too - and is in serious financial trouble.
Yet he's one of the lucky ones: a study by the University of Hong Kong found that one in five gamblers attempt suicide. The survey of 3,685 people who sought help at the Caritas Addicted Gamblers Counselling Centre, in Tsuen Wan, between 2003 to 2012, also found that 22 people considered taking the lives of their family members.
"Gambling is like a drug," says Chau, who declined to give his real name. "It's like an addiction. When I gambled I thought about it every day. I even dreamed about gambling: it was that crazy.
"You just can't stop. You want to win more and you have to place a bet."
As the horseracing season begins, the big fear among social workers helping addicts is the rise in gambling among young people - lured by the use of gambling smartphone apps and online gambling.
Raymond Wu, of Hong Kong Gamblers Recovery Centre, says: "Youth clients have more than doubled this year in our centre … showing the recent trend of underage gambling in Hong Kong.
"Gambling has become much more accessible. It's easier to start gambling because of the rise of smartphone apps and online games with gambling simulation. And social media can also spread gambling related information and news easily."