‘Quitting is hard’: how Hong Kong can protect youth after legalising basketball bets
Experts warn legalisation move will end up expanding access to gambling, call for measures to minimise risks and harm to young people
Hongkonger Cyrus Chan*, 28, still remembers how defeated he felt the day he lost almost everything to gambling.
“One night, around 10pm, I had just lost again and was left with less than HK$8,000 [US$1,020]. I was ready to end my life,” he said, recalling the incident from two years ago.
Chan said a friend introduced him to gambling four years ago, and he soon became addicted.
He even quit his job as a construction worker to gamble full-time, which he said won him quick money at first and also offered an escape from family woes, including a strained relationship with his stepmother.
But he said his addiction put him in debt, leaving him with losses of HK$1.2 million over three months playing baccarat. He had to turn to borrowing from friends and banks.
Chan said he was involved in various types of gambling, such as baccarat and betting on football and esports, and illegal online basketball gambling was one of his favourites.