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The lure of easy money: arcade thrills lead Hong Kong’s young gamers to gambling, massive debts
- Arcade operators get gamers hooked on ‘fishing game’ by exchanging points for cash
- Caritas centre helps gamblers kick the habit, deal with debts of HK$100,000 or more
Reading Time:6 minutes
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Salesman Adrian pops into an arcade in Mong Kok while waiting to meet his friends on his day off.
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Soon he is seated transfixed, playing a video game that involves shooting at sea creatures appearing on screen, and earning points for every success.
Racking up a score of around 200,000 in the “fishing game”, he says: “If I get 300,000 points, I can exchange them for a few hundred dollars.”
Adrian, not his real name, declines to reveal how he makes money. The 28-year-old admits he often spends more than he earns, but still plays twice a week, forking out more than HK$100 (US$13) each time.
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Before they start, players must buy a card from the arcade for HK$20 and pay more for games tokens.
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