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The Gambling Debate
Richard A. McGowan
Book Code: GR4068
ISBN: 0-313-34068-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-34068-0
192 pages, figures; tables
Greenwood Press
Publication: 11/30/2007
List Price: $49.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • McGowan (management, Boston College) presents case studies illustrating aspects of the gambling industry, allowing readers to debate the merits of gambling from the points of view of various stakeholders, such as government officials, gambling industry executives, and the gambling public. The book begins by reviewing the current state of gambling in the US, emphasizing the newest segments of the industry. A summary of the various ethical debates on gambling over the past few years presents a framework for analyzing the ethical issues. Three issues are then analyzed in depth: Internet gambling, sports gambling, and Native American gambling. The author develops a model for understanding the factors that public policy officials need to weigh when considering expansion of gambling, and offers a framework for evaluating the role of government in the gambling industry.
    —SciTech Booknews     February 2008
Description: The great majority of Americans--more than 80%--say they approve of gambling, even if they themselves don't gamble. Still, deep divisions persist in our attitudes toward the gambling industry. Is it profoundly destructive, preying on human weakness and stripping its victims of their sustenance and dignity? Or is it a vehicle of the American dream--an engine of personal enrichment, enormous public revenue, and economic development? The industry's explosive growth has sharpened the debate, radically altering the gambling landscape and dramatically raising the stakes involved. Author Richard A. McGowan, a respected authority on the public-policy aspects of gambling and other "sin" industries, reveals the new dynamics of gambling and frames the age-old ethical and practical questions it poses. Whether benefit or bane, gambling today permeates American culture in unprecedented ways. Its newest venues--Native American tribal casinos and the Internet--are drawing in new gamblers in vast numbers and generating spectacular profits. Social, legal, and political controversies inevitably have followed.
How should public policymakers approach expanded gambling? As regulator of the gambling industry, government has always been the gatekeeper. Its role and responsibilities remain central to the gambling debate, even while it stands to reap huge windfalls from the very industry it is regulating. Meanwhile, Internet gambling, more or less regulated at home, has found willing government sponsors abroad--removing an ever-larger segment of the industry from U.S. government jurisdiction and recasting the gambling debate.
Using this book, citizens can:
  • Learn the ethical and rhetorical framework of the gambling debate. The terms of the arguments advanced by advocates and opponents help explain why the gambling industry has been tolerated or encouraged by public policymakers.
  • Weigh the risks and rewards of government-sanctioned gambling through three actual case studies, from Missouri, Massachusetts, and the Chinese island of Macao--which in 2006 surpassed Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world. Each situation highlights particular problems and opportunities, and each is presented with discussion questions.
  • Take an informed position: Should sports gambling be legalized? Should U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling be loosened? Should government get out of the gambling business altogether?
  • Find out more about the many facets of the gambling debate by using the study resources provided.
    Series features:
  • Timeline anchoring the discussion in time and place
  • Bibliography of print and Internet resources guiding further exploration of the subject
  • Charts and tables analyzing complex data, including survey results
    • LC Card Number: 2007029709
    LCC Class: HV6715
    Dewey Class: 363
    PDF Catalogs:
    Greenwood Spring Reference 2008.pdf
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