Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I was stunned to see statistics from the American Psychiatric Association about gambling addiction in the Asian American community.
The numbers are so high I had to read them a second time to make sure my eyes weren’t pulling any tricks on me.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, in the Chinese American community, 20 percent are considered problem gamblers compared to five percent nationwide. One study on the Southeast Asian community said as many as 59 percent of Southeast Asian refugees are pathological gamblers.
The article I read wasn’t more specific, but I’m wondering if these numbers are from a subset of community members who say they gamble versus the community as a whole. Either way, the number is high.
The information came to light in a blog I read in Zocalo.
The San Gabriel City Council this month voted to draft an ordinance banning casino buses from loading and unloading passengers in the city. The city is more than 60 percent Asian American.
The story about how the Council came to the decision is quite interesting. You can read about that in Zocalo.
