What is it with Asian gamblers and graveyards?

Peter Amsel
December 18, 2010
2 Comments

asian-gamblers-graveyardsIt’s no great surprise that no western online gambling company has yet to make serious inroads into the Asian market. To put it mildly, there’s much about Asia that simply baffles westerners. Think of the Mad Men episode in which the ad guys are preparing for the arrival of the Honda execs, and since the era’s principal guide to Japanese culture is The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, they put out vases with chrysanthemums everywhere. That is, until one of them actually reads the book and deduces that the flowers symbolize death… or something, so they run about frantically removing the things before the Honda execs arrive.

Perhaps some adventurous Asian-facing online gambling company would do well to experiment with a skull and crossbones motif in their marketing campaigns. After all, it was only a month ago that we learned the authorities in the Philippines felt it necessary to remind citizens planning to celebrate All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days that gambling was not permitted in graveyards.

Now comes word that police in Malaysia recently arrested 23 men caught gambling in a Chinese cemetery in Kampung Baru. Police also seized a bowl, three dice, 78 gambling chips, three long tables and 20 chairs. Seriously, all they needed was a roof and a wet bar and they’d have had a full-fledged casino. It seems that in Asia, rolling the bones is not just a gambling metaphor.

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Tags: Article, Asia, graveyard, malaysia, Philippines
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