My father looked 10 years older after his seven-day imprisonment. When I saw him, I was startled by his sharpened face and sunken eyes. He had told me and my mother that he was going out to buy vegetables, but instead took a tempting detour to a local mahjong parlor, which just happened to get raided by the police. Prior to that, we had no idea how addicted he was to gambling.

I experienced a similar degree of shock and disappointment recently after hearing the news that three popular arcades in Shanghai were being investigated by Jiading district authorities for running illegal casinos. According to local media coverage, 24 gambling machines were seized at Jiangqiao Animation City near Wanda Plaza, and 26 individuals involved were arrested. The investigation came as a result of complaints made by residents, including one who said he had lost 480,000 yuan ($75,552) at the arcade.

Despite Shanghai's strict stance against casino culture - during last year's anti-gambling operation, Shanghai police shut down several thousand illegal game centers and seized more than 4,000 gambling machines - the harsh fact is that gambling remains Shanghai's beloved monster. Like an eight-headed hydra, new arcades and card rooms spring up around the city the moment others get shut down.

Considering China's long history of, and love for, gambling, it really shouldn't surprise us that gambling is in our culture's blood and therefore impossible to totally eliminate. For 3,500 years starting with the Xia Dynasty (C.2070-C.1600BC), gambling has been one of our most popular pastimes. Mahjong is the most well-known game, though today's younger generations prefer poker. Since the first Western-style gambling machine arrived in China in 1840, slots also have appealed to all age groups, especially kids; at my high school I knew several students who lost their entire tuitions playing slots at an arcade near our campus.

Gambling is of course not just a Chinese problem; it is a worldwide epidemic that has pervaded every society and social class. It is a psychological illness that preys on the most basics instincts of human beings - those who win want to keep winning, and those who lose want to win back what they've lost. Unfortunately for those who become blinded by the fast-paced excitement of games of chance, most who win will eventually also lose, and those who lose will lose even more.

The only real winners at a casino are the predators who run these establishments, profiting on the psychologically weak and justifying it as "luck" despite the fact that many games, especially slot machines, are rigged. "The house always wins" is a universally true expression that degenerate gamblers tend to forget the moment they place their bets.

China may never be able to fully eradicate itself of gambling - transforming Macao into the "Sin City of the Orient" is an indication of how deeply ingrained casino culture will always be here - but controlling its influence in the mainland will hopefully always be a priority for authorities. Illegal gaming dens are constantly being raided by local authorities, though the quick turnaround of those casino operators is a hint that perhaps their punishments are not severe enough. Cracking down on gambling's evil twin brother, usury, would also help stop people's addiction before they become buried in debts.

Most importantly, however, is the role that family plays on controlling the influence of gambling. Si Guoqi, an anti-gambling crusader who recently opened a new gambling rehabilitation center in Shanghai, says that family members need to play a more active role in discouraging "boys' night out" card games and cease lending family funds for these excursions.

I'm actually glad that my father went to jail for gambling. It's exactly the kind of tough love that he needed to completely quit his addiction to mahjong before he spiraled out of control. And while I hate to see other families have to go through this experience, I encourage the continued crackdown on illegal casinos fronting as arcades that prey on youngsters.

There's an ancient Chinese adage that says we can "gamble moderately to get joy and gamble recklessly to get hurt." However, in my opinion, once one begins gambling, they are doomed to pay for their foolishness.

Global Times