Gambling and drugs: The role of gambling among Vietnamese women incarcerated for drug crimes in Australia
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865814554307 |
| Date | 01 March 2016 |
| Published date | 01 March 2016 |
| Author | Roslyn Le,Michael Gilding |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2016, Vol. 49(1) 134–151
!The Author(s) 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/0004865814554307
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Article
Gambling and drugs: The role
of gambling among Vietnamese
women incarcerated for drug
crimes in Australia
Roslyn Le
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society La Trobe
University, Victoria, Australia
Michael Gilding
Faculty of Business & Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology,
Victoria, Australia
Abstract
This study of 35 Vietnamese women imprisoned for drug crimes in Melbourne, Australia,
demonstrates a strong association between problem gambling and illicit drug markets, notably
heroin trafficking and cannabis cultivation. Specifically, problem gambling in Melbourne’s
casino provided both the main motivation and the necessary network brokerage for drug-
related crime. More generally, the study demonstrates the importance of socio-cultural
dynamics in drug-related crimes: in particular, the social embeddedness of ethnic and immi-
grant participation in illicit drug markets through social relationships formed at the casino; the
influence of the institution of informal lending cho’ihu
_i; and women’s agency in drug markets,
independently of their kinship and marital relations. The study also highlights the importance
of minority perspectives in criminology, presenting an opportunity for policy officials to
develop more finely-tuned interventions directed towards the articulation between gambling
and drugs.
Keywords
Drug trafficking, gambling, illicit drugs, Vietnamese, women
Following the deregulation and legitimisation of gambling in English-speaking coun-
tries, there emerged a substantial literature on its negative social effects, especially crime.
For the most part, this literature addresses property crime such as theft, embezzlement
and misappropriation, but barely considers drug-related crime (Grinols & Mustard,
2006; Stitt, Nichols, & Giacopassi, 2003). This article demonstrates how ‘problem
Corresponding author:
Roslyn Le, ARCSHS, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
Email: r.gautier@latrobe.edu.au
gambling’ informs illicit drug markets in the Australian context. In doing so, it draws
upon a qualitative study of 35 Vietnamese women imprisoned for drug crimes in
Melbourne, Australia, notably trafficking of heroin and cultivation of cannabis. More
than half of the women interviewed in this study were motivated by debts incurred
through casino gambling. More than this, their pathways into illicit drug markets
were forged through their gambling networks.
In more general terms, the article builds upon three lines of theoretical inquiry in
relation to illicit drug markets. First, it elaborates upon the influence of socio-cultural
dynamics in drug-related crimes, especially cultural frames and social networks, over
and above the ‘risks and prices’ highlighted in neo-classical approaches (Dwyer &
Moore, 2010). Second, it shows how ‘minority perspectives in criminology’ builds a
richer understanding of participation in illicit drug markets by ethnic and immigrant
minorities (Phillips & Bowling, 2003, p. 270). Third, it highlights women’s agency in
drug markets, independently of their kinship and marital relations (Denton & O’Malley,
1999).
Illicit drug markets
Dynamics
From the 1980s, neo-classical economic orthodoxy reconceptualised drug trafficking
from a ‘criminal activity’ to a ‘commodity trade’ driven by ‘risks and prices’ (Dwyer
& Moore, 2010; Olmo, 1996, p. 376). According to this approach, price is ‘a surrogate
outcome measure of law enforcement effectiveness’. Specifically, it ‘represents the risks
associated with being arrested and imprisoned’, ‘compensation for sellers’ time’, and
‘compensation for risks and injury associated with the violence within some illicit drug
markets’ (Ritter, 2006, p. 457). Following this logic, greater law enforcement increases
prices, which reduces demand – a virtuous cycle. The orthodoxy has provided the ration-
ale for a convergence of sentencing policies worldwide (Fleetwood, 2011).
A substantial body of ethnographic research challenges the economic approach. The
most established line of inquiry highlights the manner in which drug markets are
‘embedded’ in social relationships, reputation and trust. In the USA, for example,
Adler and Adler observe that ‘dealing circles were generally very close, tightly knit
groups’, attracting ‘people of roughly the same age, race and ethnic origin who con-
ducted their business along similar standards of security, reliability, involvement and
commitment’ (Adler & Adler, 1994, p. 311). In the UK, Dorn, Murji, and South (1992)
describe how drug groups were based on trust, emotional bonds and welfare concerns
akin to ‘real or adopted family’ (p. 41). In Australia, Denton and O’Malley note ‘close
and long-term kin ties’ among women drug dealers, ‘bound even more tightly together
by norms of reciprocity, expectations of personal gain and perceived moral duty to
support blood relations’ (Denton & O’Malley, 1999, p. 519).
Another line of inquiry observes that risks and prices are not necessarily aligned. In
the USA, for example, Caulkins and Reuter (2006) observe that prices for illicit drugs
have declined despite substantial increases in enforcement and incarceration. In
Ecuador, Fleetwood’s interviews with incarcerated drug traffickers show that more ser-
ious offenders do not necessarily carry larger quantities of drugs. Specifically, ‘mules’
Le and Gilding 135
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