Vicious Games: Capitalism and Gambling

by Rebecca Cassidy

Overview

Based on over ten years experience working in the industry, this is an exposé of the gambling business

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745340388
Publisher:	Pluto Press
Publication date:	02/20/2020
Series:	Anthropology, Culture and Society
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.32(w) x 8.46(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Rebecca Cassidy is Professor of Anthropology at Goldsmiths University. She is the co-author of Qualitative Research in Gambling: Exploring the Production and Consumption of Risk (Routledge).

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Gambling's New Deal
2. Raffles: Gambling for Good
3. The Birth of the Betting Shop
4. The Rise of the Machines
5. The Responsible Gambling Myth
6.  The Bookmarker's Lament
7. Online in Gibraltar 
8. The Regulation Game
Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

'Cassidy takes readers behind the scenes of the commercial gambling industry to reveal how it reinvents itself in the face of shifting technology, economic prospects, and regulative logics. From machine-packed betting shops on London's high streets, to raffles at countryside churches, she offers a first-hand view of the dynamic -and sometimes vicious - interactions between the hunt for profit and punters' lives.'

Natasha D. Schull

'Cassidy's book offers new insights into the gambling industry and its social order, perceived norms and lived values. At a time when gambling is struggling to maintain its reputation as a leisure pursuit, the stories in this book should be a wake up call to those who deny there is any need for reform.'

Anna van der Gaag

"Cassidy takes readers behind the scenes of the commercial gambling industry to reveal how it reinvents itself in the face of shifting technology, economic prospects, and regulative logics. From machine-packed betting shops on London's high streets, to raffles at countryside churches, she offers a first-hand view of the dynamic -and sometimes vicious - interactions between the hunt for profit and punters' lives" - Natasha D. Schull, author of 'Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas'

"Cassidy's book offers new insights into the gambling industry and its social order, perceived norms and lived values. At a time when gambling is struggling to maintain its reputation as a leisure pursuit, the stories in this book should be a wake up call to those who deny there is any need for reform" - Anna van der Gaag, Chair of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling

'Cassidy takes readers behind the scenes of the commercial gambling industry to reveal how it reinvents itself in the face of shifting technology, economic prospects, and regulative logics. From machine-packed betting shops on London's high streets, to raffles at countryside churches, she offers a first-hand view of the dynamic -and sometimes vicious - interactions between the hunt for profit and punters' lives.'--Natasha D. Schull, author of 'Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas'

'Cassidy's book offers new insights into the gambling industry and its social order, perceived norms and lived values. At a time when gambling is struggling to maintain its reputation as a leisure pursuit, the stories in this book should be a wake up call to those who deny there is any need for reform.'--Anna van der Gaag, Chair of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling

From the Publisher