Gambling cultures : studies in history and interpretation

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.