The Chinese have a long history of enjoying games such as cards and mah jong. Now they appear to be the biggest customers of casinos worldwide.

Go to Las Vegas, Macau or Melbourne and the majority of players inevitably are Chinese.

These days the casinos cater to them with Chinese bilingual dealers and other Asian-targeted perks.

So why do they love it so much?

Many have no idea. As one Hong Kong Chinese man said, “I don’t really know how to answer this, just like Aussies having vegemite, if you know what I mean.

“It’s been a long culture for Chinese to gamble and they believe it depends on their luck… Particularly during the festival or having leisure time, the Chinese like to gamble at home (mah jong) and play card games during Chinese New Year period (21 and poker). Gambling is a part of the Chinese blood I think.”

As the Chinese prefer simple games, baccarat is the most popular one at Macau casinos.

They don’t use the number four because it’s considered an unlucky number in China – it also means death – sei in Cantonese or si in Mandarin.

Samuel Chong from the Los Angeles Chinese Learning Centre puts the popularity of gambling down to: financial reasons (of course), socialising, the need for excitement to overcome boredom and for relaxation or as an escape.

The educator says his centre strongly discourages casino-related gambling and other forms as it has caused so much misfortune in Chinese families.

Although gambling is illegal in mainland China, many mainlanders find ways to gamble and to visit casinos either by travelling abroad to Macau or Las Vegas, or by gambling in private places or setting up underground gambling houses.

Chong says gambling is considered an acceptable form of social activity. Chinese people make friends, engage in business transactions, sign deals, and form stronger bonds (hopefully) with players of the games.

For 40 years under the rulings of the Communist Party, Chinese mainlanders could not find enough opportunities to make money, so casino gambling provided a “possible” way to get rich quickly.

Gamblers do not need the same sort of connections that are needed for business in China, and there’s little red tape, Chong says.

In modern China, many in the south become rich through normal business practices, but their wives’ social activities are limited. So they turn their hobbies into gambling.

Visiting casinos might help stressed business people or government officials escape life’s worries and difficulties.

For games like blackjack, there is always the possibility that you could outsmart the casinos, Chong says.

Recently, Chinese people have begun to play casino games online but in mainland China the government has been cracking down on this.

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