Tet is over but the Tet aftertaste and the addiction to gambling have not completely gone away

Many young people are addicted to gambling, playing all night long - Illustration: YEN TRINH

Go to the company… play cards for fun

Every Tet holiday, when returning to her hometown, Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Chau (26 years old, from Kien Giang) and a group of about 10 old friends meet for coffee, and there is always a deck of cards. Chau said that during Tet, the group meets every night from December 28 to the 3rd day of Tet with the purpose of playing cards.

"We gamble for money, but not much, 5,000 - 10,000 VND per game. It's Tet, so it's fun to meet up and gamble a little," Chau said. However, Chau admitted that after returning to the city after Tet, she still hasn't forgotten the feeling of wanting to gamble.

On her first day at work, she bought cards and waited until lunch break to gather a few colleagues to open a casino at the company. After work that day, she met another group of friends to play cards.

"I play every year during Tet, and after Tet, there are still some lingering feelings, so my friends and I often meet up to play a few more days, and only stop when we are busy with deadlines. I don't know if it's an addiction or not, but I consider this a way to entertain myself at the beginning of the year when there's not much to do," she said.

Ms. Hong Thao (30 years old, a media employee in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City) said that at first, she just played cards for fun. She said: "At first, I played to score points, whoever lost the most would invite the group to coffee and breakfast. Playing a lot felt fun and wanted to recoup, so we switched to playing for money."

At first, it was only 5,000 VND, 10,000 VND, then the group increased to 20,000 VND, 50,000 VND. The location was usually a small meeting room of the company during lunch break. Or when meeting at the apartment of one of the group members, after eating, they played cards.

Not only at restaurants and companies, some people also like to play cards when traveling. Tuan Anh (photographer, living in Phu Nhuan district) has a group of friends who every two or three months will travel to places not too far from Ho Chi Minh City. After eating and sightseeing, the group often chooses to return to the hotel to play cards.

Similarly, Ms. Hong Thao said that if she goes on a trip, she usually spends the evening until morning playing cards. As a result, she is drowsy during the trip due to lack of sleep, and when she returns to the city, she feels lethargic.

Whatever the reason, gambling never brings good things.

Master Le Minh Huan - psychology lecturer, director of An Nhien Psychology - Education Application Company Limited - commented that people who tend to be addicted to gambling or like to entertain themselves by gambling do not just wait for Tet to play, but in fact, the behavior is repeated regularly.

However, before and after, especially during Tet, people tend to gamble more. The first reason is that many people rely on the view that January is a month of fun, thinking that this month does not require much work, is a time to rest, have fun, gather or gamble is also normal.

Second, taking advantage of the time during and after Tet to meet friends, colleagues, and relatives, it is understandable to take advantage of the opportunity to entice each other to play cards as an excuse. Third, people almost think that the "best" time to play cards is Tet, because at this time most people are in a free, comfortable, and less constrained state.

"This is deeply ingrained in the subconscious and is practiced as a habit during Tet. From there, many young people will find themselves able to rationalize gambling without fear of being scolded," said Mr. Huan. He said the role of adults in education at this time has become looser because everyone thinks "It's okay to gamble a little during Tet."

Gambling during Tet easily attracts players, stimulates gambling "blood", wins and losses and prays for luck. Winning wants to win more, losing wants to recoup, so gatherings will continue to occur if there is no strong enough factor to prevent it.

Therefore, Mr. Minh Huan also emphasized that if we continue to go deeper, it will create bad precedents, possibly losing money and affecting surrounding relationships.

In addition, players who cannot control their emotions and behaviors will have difficulty concentrating when returning to work after Tet, reducing productivity, affecting family life, working environment...

Sometimes, some people in the game want to stop but are not strong enough to "rein" themselves. At this time, people who have a role or influence on the "gambler" should be skillful and decisive in helping them get out.

"Players themselves must be sober enough to realize that they are on the wrong path to learn a lesson and stop. Proactively cut off contact with people who entice and entice them in many ways, and can ask others to pull them out of the gambling trap. In addition, they can ask acquaintances to keep their money, assets... to avoid "touching" themselves when they are addicted to gambling," shared Master Minh Huan.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/het-tet-van-chua-dut-han-du-am-tet-va-con-ghien-do-den-20240223150306233.htm