Gambling can cause harm to both the people who gamble as well as their family members or close friends. Previous research suggests that Chinese/Asian populations in Aotearoa New Zealand are the most harmed by casino gambling. In this study, the researchers explored how Chinese recent migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand began and stopped engaging in excessive gambling. The researchers interviewed 16 recent migrants from eight families, including 8 people who gambled and 8 affected family members. The participants shared their experiences of how they began to gamble and how they responded to gambling harm. The researchers presented these experiences in four stages. The first stage, misconnecting, described how and why people began to gamble. The second and third stages, disconnecting and reconnecting, described how people stopped gambling, the challenges they faced, and the support they needed. The last stage, rebuilding a natural life, focused on how participants lived a more balanced life after they stopped gambling excessively.
