“worse than drug addiction or alcoholism”

'It's a darkness': Chinatown waiters affected by gambling addiction back calls for government to restrict number of betting shops

Peter Chan of the Christian Centre for Gambling Rehabilitation
Published: 17 August, 2012
by JOSH LOEB

CHINATOWN waiters who have suffered from gambling addiction this week called on the government to take a tougher stance on bookies.

They added their voices to a campaign being orchestrated by community leaders including Peter Chan of the Christian Centre for Gambling Rehabilitation and Edmond Yeo of the Chinese Information and Advice Centre in Charing Cross Road.

The waiters told how they had lost a fortune in betting shops and casinos in the area. One, Wah Cheng, 52, said gambling addiction was “worse than drug addiction or alcoholism”. He said: “With drugs you can smoke a doobie and be high for an hour, but with gambling in just one second you could lose £1,000, even £1million. It’s a darkness.

“I used to spend the whole evening without sleeping, just gambling. There’s nowhere to go so you just stay in the casino or the betting shop. It ruined my life for 25 years. I could have saved money and done something good with it. I hate myself for it and also I hate the industry that caused for me this problem.”

The Chinatown Gambling Concern Group, which believes Chinese people are particularly vulnerable to debt because of gambling, want a consultation being run by the Department for Communities and Local Government to result in more obstacles being placed in the path of companies wishing to open new betting shops.

Hei Lie, 46, another waiter, said his divorce seven years ago was partly due to his gambling addiction. He had lost two properties he had bought with money inherited from his grandfather, who had been a supermarket chain boss in Hong Kong.

Mr Lie said: “I feel really really sad about it. My father worked really really hard for his money and he gave the two houses to me and I didn’t really take care of them. I lost it.

“With gambling addiction, if the feeling comes to you, you have to gamble, you can’t really control yourself. If you have money in your pocket you just go to the gambling places.”

http://www.westendextra.com/news/2012/aug/its-darkness-chinatown-waiters-affected-gambling-addiction-back-calls-government-restr