While most research has examined the legal, economic and psychological sides of gambling, this innovative collection offers a wide range of cultural perspectives on gambling organizations. Using both historical and present-day case studies from throughout the world, the authors seriously consider the rituals, symbols, the meanings, values, legitimations, relations (formal as well as informal), and the spaces and artifacts involved in the (re)production of gambling organizations. Contributors not only examine the global influence of commercial gambling, but also demonstrate how the local qualities of gambling organizations remain unique. This volume will be of interest to criminologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and all scholars of gambling.
The collection of case studies maps the corporate and financial structures of global gambling companies, the tactics that these companies employ to secure profits, the impact they exert on other industry sectors, as well as perspectives on regulation. The articles in the book cover different geographical areas, gambling formats and perspectives into how the global gambling industry has emerged, expanded, and how it is maintained and regulated, in order to form a picture of the global political economy of gambling. The chapters are written by leading scholars on gambling law, social sciences and economy.Chapters [Chapter-No 3.] and [Chapter-No 6] are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
This volume contains an Open Access chapter. Establishing a scholarly platform to inform interventions in research and policymaking, this book demonstrates the importance of sociology in understanding sports gambling in a global age.
Internet gambling is one of the fastest growing forms of gambling. Global Internet gambling expenditure is predicted to reach US$33.6 billion in 2011. This is higher than worldwide movie box office revenues and represents 9% of the international gambling market. The rapid increase in expenditure of 354% since 2003 has occurred despite Internet gambling being prohibited in several key markets, including the US and China. It also suggests that current regulation may be somewhat outdated and ineffective as more and more people turn to this mode of gambling. Internet gambling is highly accessible with over 2,400 sites available 24/7 through computers, mobile phones, wireless devices and even interactive televisions. Gamblers can now play casino games, bingo, cards and poker, bet on races, sports and even celebrity weddings using over 199 means of electronic payments without leaving the house. Increasing international jurisdictions are legalizing Internet gambling and the constant accessibility of online gambling has critical social implications. Gambling operators are using aggressive advertising campaigns to move into new markets. Internet gambling appears to be particularly appealing to youth, who are gambling online at substantially higher rates than adults. Furthermore, Internet gambling appears to be related to problem gambling, with rates of problem gambling three to four times higher among Internet than non-Internet gamblers, indicating that it may have a substantial social cost. The anonymity of online sports betting poses a significant threat to the integrity of sport at all levels with increasing allegations of match-fixing and cheating. Estimates suggested that 50% of all bets on the 2010 FIFA World Cup were placed online, worth an estimated £500 million. These figures represent a 700% rise in online betting since the 2006 tournament and included many new players that opened online accounts. It is essential that appropriate responses are made by governments, industry professionals and the public in response to Internet gambling. This book will provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Internet gambling, including the social impact and regulatory options. A global outline will include the characteristics and features of the many forms of Internet gambling, including the current market, and participation, and differences between Internet and non-Internet gambling. Specific regional considerations will be explored including regulatory responses and options. Importantly, the social consequences and costs of Internet gambling will be examined, including the impact of online gambling on sports, youth and problem gambling. Strategies for prevention and responsible gambling will be considered as well as expected trends.
Commercial gambling is a recent historical phenomenon. It has developed into a profitable industry that supplies a range of recreational activities to its customers, and is a significant way of collecting money from players to distribute to companies, state budgets, and other beneficiaries. Many of these are civil society organizations, using the money for producing services in sports, culture, social work, and health care. However, gambling can also develop into pathological behaviour. Using a public interest framework, this book discusses the policies that will best serve the public good and minimize individual and collective harms. After describing the historical context of the gambling and the current global burden of the activity, available methods of regulating the industry are evaluated using the available scientific evidence. By analysing the effectiveness of gambling policies and their alignment with the public interest, the epidemiological obstacles to successful regulation are considered in detail. There is good evidence for the effectiveness of restrictions on availability and access, but preventing gambling-related harm is not possible without limiting the overall volume of the activity, and hence the profits for the gambling industry and governments. Taking an international approach, this book delivers a comprehensive review of the epidemiological evidence documenting the harmful effects of gambling on individuals, communities, and societies. Essential reading for policymakers, social and behavioural scientists in gambling research, and public health researchers, Setting Limits examines a global view of an emerging epidemic of gambling problems.
Get into the minds of the greatest gamblers of all time. Read in-depth interviews with eight masters of the games. Learn how they think, how they play, and what made them successful. The interview subjects include: Billy Walters (sports betting), Chip Reese (poker), Doyle Brunson (poker), Mike Svobodny (backgammon), Stan Tomchin (backgammon and sports betting), Cathy Hulbert (blackjack and poker), Alan Woods (blackjack and horse racing), and Tommy Hyland (blackjack).
Video games are inherently transnational by virtue of industrial, textual, and player practices. The contributors touch upon nations not usually examined by game studies - including the former Czechoslovakia, Turkey, India, and Brazil - and also add new perspectives to the global hubs of China, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and the United States.
There are now signs that, after decades of phenomenal growth, the era of unrestrained gambling liberalisation may be coming to an end. However, the power of the Gambling Establishment is formidable, and it will certainly fight back. Drawing on research and policy examples from around the world, the book provides a unified understanding of the dangerousness of modern commercialised gambling, how its expansion has been deliberately or inadvertently supported, and how the backlash is now occurring. The term Gambling Establishment is defined to include the industry which sells gambling, governments which support it, and a wider network of organisations and individuals who have subscribed to the ‘responsible gambling’ Establishment discourse. Topics covered include the psychology of how gambling is now being advertised and promoted and the way it is designed to deceive gamblers about their chances of winning; the increased exposure of young people to gambling and the alignment of gambling with sport; understanding the experience of gambling addiction; the various public health harms of gambling at individual, family, community and societal levels; and how evidence has been used to resist change. The book’s final chapter offers the author’s manifesto for policy change, designed with Britain particularly in mind but likely to have relevance elsewhere. With detailed examples given of the ways a number of countries are responding to these threats to their citizens’ health, this book will be of global interest for academics, researchers, policymakers and service providers in the field of gambling or other addictions specifically, and public health and social policy generally.
Internet gambling is a rapidly growing phenomenon, which has profound social, psychological, economic, political, and policy implications. As jurisdictions around the world grapple to understand the best way to respond to Internet gambling from a commercial, regulatory, and social perspective, the Handbook of Internet Gambling consolidates this emerging body of literature into a single reference volume. Its twenty chapters comprise groundbreaking contributions from the world's leading authorities in the commercial, clinical, political and social aspects of Internet gambling.
"Responsible gambling" refers to a range of strategies, initiatives, and activities introduced by gambling regulators, policymakers, and industry operators to reduce gambling-related harms. There is an absence of agreement about the definition of responsible gambling among these parties, and stakeholders' experiences reflect varied and often conflicting positions about the development, implementation, and maintenance of existing responsible gambling programs. Complicating these issues further, there is little empirical evidence supporting the current crop of responsible gambling activities. Consequently, there is a pressing need to bring together key similarities and differences associated with disparate stakeholder groups. Responsible Gambling: Primary Stakeholder Perspectives will inform and better ground both current and future debates focused on the topic of responsible gambling and its intended outcomes. Chapters address responsible gambling from the perspective of five groups of complementary stakeholders: scientists/researchers; clinicians; gambling operators; public policy makers/regulators; and recovering gamblers. Contributors address responsible gambling through the lens of the Reno Model, an approach that emphasizes the importance of stakeholders working together and using evidence-based methods to reduce gambling-related harms. Building upon and expanding the Reno Model and addressing conflicts and ethical compromises so that these programs can achieve their intended objectives (reducing the worldwide rate of gambling-related harms), Responsible Gambling will be of value to scientists, clinicians, policy makers, regulators, and industry operators interested in responsible gambling strategies and activities.
