As big casino companies eagerly scour the downstate region in hopes of winning one of the three new casino licenses, it’s clear they have Asian-Americans squarely in their sights. What remains to be seen is the disproportionate harm these new casinos will have on this historically marginalized and increasingly vulnerable community.
On a daily basis, Asian-Americans in and around New York City are bombarded with gambling advertisements showcasing the glitz, glamor and great possibility found in the tri-state area’s many casinos.
Casino ads targeting Asian-Americans often line the No. 7 train, which feeds directly into the heavily populated Asian-American community along Main Street, Flushing. Chinese and Korean newspapers teem with targeted marketing. Meanwhile charter buses shuttle patrons nearly door-to-door from Flushing, Chinatown and Brooklyn to casinos sometimes hundreds of miles away in upstate New York or New Jersey and Connecticut.
In a surprising display of cultural competency, many of these casinos target Asian-American communities with rare, in-language ability complete with promotional giveaways centered around important Asian holidays like Lunar New Year. Resorts World offers Lucky Dragon Red Envelope giveaways and a Gong Xi Fa Cai 888 Cash Drawing where gamblers can win up to $38,888 in cash (888 is widely considered to be an extremely lucky number in Chinese culture).
A cursory glance at some of the big casino company websites shows that these efforts are backed by extensive Asian marketing teams who often offer users translation tabs in Chinese (but only in Chinese).
It’s no secret that gambling is prevalent in Asian communities, and with such hyper-aggressive ad targeting, it’s easy to see how this community disproportionately suffers from incidences of problem gambling, addiction, and other social, economic and health concerns.
The granting of up to three downstate casino licenses will surely exacerbate this problem, especially as…
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