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A recent survey reveals that seven million of China's200 million lottery players are in fact addicts, and that 430,000of them suffer from extreme lottery addiction, according to theBeijing News. Experts say China's Lottery Development Index (the ratio of acountry's annual lottery revenue against its GDP) has been morethan 0.5 percent since 2011, which is higher than the U.S. and manyEuropean countries. However, in China, there is scant support for high-risk gamblers. Lottery fever Hu Lijun is an experienced lottery ticket seller who has run astore for more than seven years. He says many of his customers areobsessed with purchasing lottery tickets and spend moneycompulsively to fuel their addiction. The money raised from lotteries is an important source of fundingfor government welfare and athletic programs, but few people buylottery tickets because they want to contribute to such things,says Hu. Duan Bin is such a customer he can spend 2,000 yuan (US$317) onlottery tickets in a matter of minutes, according to Hu. Duan isunconcerned about where the money goes, and if he doesn't win, hejust chalks it up to bad luck, Hu adds. Hu's shop is adorned with many auspicious symbols such as fortunecats and money frogs, which lottery players believe will bring goodluck. According to Hu, people may think that lottery winners buy houses,nice cars or make wise investments, but in reality many of themonly use the money to buy more lottery tickets in the hopes ofwinning even bigger prizes. Irrational behavior Last March, a lottery ticket buyer was apprehended after cheating astore owner in Xicheng District of Beijing, and later admitted thathe could not restrain his impulse to buy tickets, reports theBeijing News. The man named Wang Qiang spent 200 yuan (US$31.7) on lotterytickets but did not win, so he asked the store owner to sell himmore on credit. Wang then pretended to call his family and ask for30,000 yuan (US$4,755) and pressed the store owner to sell him moretickets before the money arrived. Such people are lottery addicts and compulsive gamblers, and themoney they spend on their habits sometimes exceeds their monthlyincomes, according to a survey conducted last month by the LotteryResearch Center at Beijing Normal University. Most addicts are between 18 to 45 years old, relatively uneducatedand earn 1,500 to 3,000 yuan (US$238 to US$475) a month, the surveyrevealed. Because of their low social positions, they hope to change theirlives through instant payoffs, experts say. However, suchaddictions can result in problems such as theft and bankruptcy,which can have a negative impact on society and the development ofthe lottery industry. No support According to Hu Lijun, the more lottery tickets he sells the moremoney he makes, but he sometimes feels guilty for taking advantageof lottery addicts. Dr. Chen Haiping, a psychology expert at Beijing Normal University,says the sales pattern of lottery tickets reflects a problem withthe GDP-oriented industry, and that the government shouldstrengthen the regulation of lottery ticket sales to prevent severeaddiction. China introduced its first administrative regulations on lotteriesin July of 2009 in an effort to ensure the credibility of therapidly growing industry. However, it is not the ticket sellersthat persuade people to buy, but the lottery itself, says Mr. Yuan,a lottery store owner in Beijing. Chen Haiping adds that a support system for lottery addicts is alsovery important, but as far as he knows only a lottery researchinstitute at Peking University has a hotline to offer advice toaddicts. Chen notes that many countries have comprehensive prevention andsupport systems for lottery addicts, and that some countries evenforce lottery sellers to refuse service to severe addicts. Feng Baiming, director of the Lottery Research Institute at theHenan University of Finance and Economics, suggests that Chinashould establish a special fund with lottery money to help problemgamblers and mitigate the industry's negative effects. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Led Workshop Lamp , Cob Led Module Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Led Pendant Lighting today!
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