Gambling Cultures

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.