Many Chinese people regard problematic and uncontrolled gambling as merely a misconduct but not a disease. In both the mainland and Macao, where is the only city in China operating casinos legally with the world’s largest gambling revenue, empirical data were collected for investigating how those common beliefs (i.e., illness representations [IR]) about gambling disorder relate to Chinese people’s gambling-related cognitions/behaviors. Guided by the Common-sense Model (CSM), an experiment was conducted to test whether activation of the threat would lead to more cognitive resource (i.e., attention) to the information related to gambling disorder. We further conducted surveys to provide empirical support that the multi-dimensional measure for IR (i.e., the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire) was applicable to behavioral addictions, including gambling disorder. Major dimensions of IR (e.g., timeline cyclical, treatment control, and emotional representations) were replicated for gambling disorder in our Chinese samples. Moreover, we examined whether and how these IR were associated with risk of gambling disorder. For example, our behavioral data gave evidence for significant an association between IR and risk taking via the Balloon analogue risk task. Our survey data also revealed four different IR groups varying in gambling patterns, using latent profile analysis. These data support extending the application of CSM to preventive and treatment programs for gambling disorder in Chinese people.