Gambling Cultures: Studies in History and Interpretation (Culture: Policy and Politics)

Author: McMillen, Jan

Brand: Routledge

Edition: 1

Number Of Pages: 332

EAN: 9780415068208

Release Date: 13-06-1996

Package Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches

Languages: English, Spanish

Binding: hardcover

Part Number: 1

Details: From bingo in the United Kingdom to slots in Las Vegas and Sydney, to `jambo' in Cameroon, gambling is a feature of societies across the world. Gambling Cultures explores the complex relationship between cash and culture as gambling emerges as a global phenomenon. Traditional accounts of gambling's pleasures and dangers talk in terms of addiction, compulsion, greed and profit. By contrast, this work focuses on modern gambling as it has emerged as a commercial industry, analyzing the ambiguous relationship between morality and risk taking and studies the contradictory stance of governments. Providing a range of case studies from Africa, Australia, the USA and Europe, Gambling Cultures offers a unique, comparative framework for the historical and cultural analysis of contemporary gambling practices.