Gambling Addiction
Introduction
Gambling is deeply rooted in American culture (Findlay, 1986). In precolonial times, the proceeds from lotteries authorized by the ruling English monarchy were used to subsidize explorations to, and settlements within, the New World (Ezell, 1960). As colonial America matured, government and private lotteries, as well as social gambling, were common. The colonial era of gambling ended with the spread of Jacksonian morality, aided by numerous well-publicized scandals. Civil War reconstruction introduced a second era of gambling, as lotteries were employed as a form of voluntary taxation to rebuild the wartorn South (Rose, 1998; Ezell, 1977). Gambling continued to spread until 1890, when a scandal involving the Louisiana lottery resulted in federal legislation that effectively banned state lotteries and prohibited other forms of gambling for nearly 70 years (Rose, 1998; Ezell, 1977).
The United States is now in the midst of a third era of widespread legalized gambling, which began in 1931 when Nevada relegalized casinos (Rose, 1986, 1995). Initially, Americans in this era limited legal gambling opportunities to the Nevada casinos, charitable bingo, and pari-mutuel gambling, such as horse and dog track racing. Popular forms of illegal gambling, such as offtrack betting, back room casino games, and numbers, were associated with organized crime and were treated as vice crimes by law enforcement institutions. Then, beginning in 1964, gambling expanded greatly after New Hampshire initiated the first modern state lottery, signifying a change in traditional social and moral barriers. As of this writing, some form of gambling is legal in all but 3 states, casino or casino-style gambling is available in 21 states, and 37 states have lotteries (National Opinion Research Center, 1999). In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which allows tribes to operate any form of gambling currently legalized in the state in which the tribe resides.
Gambling is deeply rooted in American culture (Findlay, 1986). In precolonial times, the proceeds from lotteries authorized by the ruling English monarchy were used to subsidize explorations to, and settlements within, the New World (Ezell, 1960). As colonial America matured, government and private lotteries, as well as social gambling, were common. The colonial era of gambling ended with the spread of Jacksonian morality, aided by numerous well-publicized scandals. Civil War reconstruction introduced a second era of gambling, as lotteries were employed as a form of voluntary taxation to rebuild the wartorn South (Rose, 1998; Ezell, 1977). Gambling continued to spread until 1890, when a scandal involving the Louisiana lottery resulted in federal legislation that effectively banned state lotteries and prohibited other forms of gambling for nearly 70 years (Rose, 1998; Ezell, 1977).
The United States is now in the midst of a third era of widespread legalized gambling, which began in 1931 when Nevada relegalized casinos (Rose, 1986, 1995). Initially, Americans in this era limited legal gambling opportunities to the Nevada casinos, charitable bingo, and pari-mutuel gambling, such as horse and dog track racing. Popular forms of illegal gambling, such as offtrack betting, back room casino games, and numbers, were associated with organized crime and were treated as vice crimes by law enforcement institutions. Then, beginning in 1964, gambling expanded greatly after New Hampshire initiated the first modern state lottery, signifying a change in traditional social and moral barriers. As of this writing, some form of gambling is legal in all but 3 states, casino or casino-style gambling is available in 21 states, and 37 states have lotteries (National Opinion Research Center, 1999). In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which allows tribes to operate any form of gambling currently legalized in the state in which the tribe resides.
References: Griffiths, M. D. (1994) The role of cognitive bias and skill in fruit machine gambling.