Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Gamblers of East Asian Descent in Australia: A Comprehensive Review of Current Evidence

Abstract

As a country with one of the highest per capita gambling losses per year in the world, and an evolving multicultural profile, Australia has become an important setting in which to examine the harms and benefits related to gambling. The Australian population includes people from East Asian cultural backgrounds who are a key demographic of interest for gambling operators planning to grow revenue. However, Australian gambling research has concentrated primarily on those belonging to the dominant cultural group. Most of the previous and limited number of studies to examine gambling among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) residents have focused on people of Chinese descent, and much of the literature is now becoming relatively old. This review examines the current evidence around cultural variations in gambling prevalence, motivations, beliefs, behaviours, and help service utilisation, focusing on gamblers with an East Asian cultural background. Numerous domains in which gambling motivations and behaviours vary across cultural groups are identified, and methodological considerations related to ethnographic gambling research are discussed. This review found that while barriers and predictors to help-seeking for CALD gamblers have been studied extensively, contemporary evidence of help service utilisation and effectiveness in Australia is lacking. Further research providing an accurate assessment of the impacts of gambling for CALD gamblers is needed to ensure that harm minimisation resources are effective for those most vulnerable to harm.

Exploring the feasibility of a gambling harm screening model in general practice and community service settings in Fairfield: a pilot study

“…Gambling screening in primary care settings can provide opportunities to discuss gambling, identify at-risk individuals and improve treatment outcomes (Browne et al 2017(Browne et al , 2023Roberts et al 2019). However, limited research to date has explored the use of screening in Australian CALD communities (Dickins and Thomas 2016;Rowlatt et al 2023). Implementing gambling screening in general practice (GP) settings could help to overcome gambling stigma and support CALD communities.…”