Hongkonger Cyrus Chan*, 28, still remembers how defeated he felt the day he lost almost everything to gambling.
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“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.
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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.