Is mahjong a national quintessence?

I think mahjong is really a national quintessence, but it has never been crowned because it involves illegal entertainment.

From a lot of information, I know that mahjong appeared in our country very early, which can be said to be a very special form of entertainment in our country. We can only find that mahjong is more used in illegal entertainment with society, which leads to the idea of gambling when it comes to mahjong. Because it is often labeled as illegal entertainment, it has never been a national quintessence or even often banned.