This book takes a close look at online gambling, a rapidly growing industry with the potential for significant social harm.
Exploring multiple-perspectives – including the experience of consumers, the industry itself, the challenges of research and the importance of regulation – the book draws on sociological methods to give a more nuanced account of how the industry really works and the effect it is having on our social world. The book argues that online gambling is an important example of digital production of an addictive commodity with unique commercial determinants, including high profits, high availability, harmful product characteristics and a digital-first business model that is networked with other addictive industries. It explores key themes in online gambling research, including online gambling products and online gambling production, the importance of data or surveillance capitalism, the possibilities and limits of regulating online markets and the future of online gambling markets, and highlights the asymmetry between the industry and regulation in terms of access to, and ability to analyse, data.
Examining the existing evidence and offering new empirical analyses, and containing examples, stories and research data in every chapter, this book is important reading for anybody with an interest in gambling, digital business, the sociology of leisure and consumption, addiction, data capitalism, social harm, governance, public policy or regulation.