Commissioned through the Ministry of Health’s Gambling Harm Research Programme, this report was produced by Asian Family Services (AFS) and Allen + Clarke to empirically test factors linked to Asian migrants’ gambling experiences and related mental health impacts, using AFS’s Asian Integrated Tree Model as the guiding framework.

The study used a three-phase, mixed-methods design. Phase 1 reviewed 46 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources (2000–2024) on Asian migrants in Western contexts. Phase 2 involved 25 semi-structured interviews with people from Asian migrant communities affected by gambling harm (through their own or a family member’s gambling). Phase 3 delivered a nationally representative survey of Asian adults in New Zealand (online via an Asian panel plus supplementary paper-based responses), translated into eight Asian languages, with 1,273 valid responses weighted to match the 2023 Census demographic profile.

Findings support the Integrated Tree Model’s view that gambling harm is driven by interconnected cognitive, cultural, psychological, experiential, and environmental factors—not one single cause. The report highlights the role of culturally shaped cognitive distortions (especially beliefs about luck and fate), acculturation experiences, and stressors such as recent migration, alongside psychological factors like impulsivity. It also distinguishes between who gambles versus who is harmed: participation is more tied to characteristics like age/gender and perceived benefits of gambling, while harm severity is more closely linked to life circumstances and cognitive/psychological factors.