Pathways to excessive gambling: A societal perspective on youth and adult gambling pursuits

Abstract

Although Australia is, in population and economic terms, a relatively small country compared with many of the other G-20 countries, it is a major player in the area of gambling. It is well known that Australians have the highest per capita expenditure on gambling of any country in the world. Several Australian companies are leading innovators in gaming machine technology, and gambling-related taxation (particularly from gaming machines) provides a crucial source of revenue for state governments. Gambling is a major feature of everyday community life in Australia. With the exception of Western Australia, most community clubs and hotels in Australia have gaming machines and other gambling facilities. It is, therefore, very difficult for Australians to avoid being exposed to opportunities to gamble when they go out for drinks, to social functions, or on family outings at licensed venues. Over 70 percent of Australian adults gamble at least once per year, and this behaviour often starts early, because young people grow up in families where gambling is seen as an acceptable and enjoyable part-time and social activity (Productivity Commission, 2010). In general, this is the central argument advanced by Charlotte Fabiansson in her new book, Pathways to excessive gambling. Spanning more than 200 pages, Fabiansson’s book is a sociological account of the rapid global expansion of the gambling industry over the last two decades, but it is also a critique of more individualistic or psychological approaches that have tended to dominate the field of gambling research since its inception. In Fabiansson’s view, gambling is a multifaceted phenomenon that needs to be understood in a broader social, economic, and political context. The causes of problem gambling lie not just with individuals, but in these broader factors and influences. Similarly, when one considers the harms resulting from gambling, one must also consider how the community and the social fabric is affected, rather than merely focussing on the consequences for the individual gambler.