Using a public interest framework, epidemiological evidence, and an international approach, Setting Limits discusses gambling policies that will best serve the public good and minimise harm. Essential reading for policymakers and all those working in gambling research.

Because of the rapid spread of permitted gambling, social scientists have begun to examine a wide variety of impacts associated with gambling. This volume offers a selection of such analysis of modern gambling and its implications for society. By adding to the base of knowledge about the consequences of permitted gambling, good, bad and ambiguous, such research should help the public policy process in the future.

Examines the dramatic growth of legal gambling in the United States--and the shifting and often contentious politics accompanying its spread.

Forty-eight states now permit legalized gambling in some form, thirty-seven states run lotteries, forty-seven allow bingo houses, and more than a dozen states permit betting on dog races. American gamblers wager over $300 billion yearly in legal gambling. Although many Americans enjoy gambling and see it as harmless recreation and a fairly painless way to generate revenue without levying direct taxes, many social conservatives see gambling as a socially destructive temptation that ought notto be indulged by private citizens, much less sponsored by government. Recently, economic pressures resulting from less federal revenue and Americans' growing aversion to tax increases have led many state governments to liberalize gambling laws or sponsor gambling, sparking a lively debate. Legalized Gambling contains twenty articles focusing on different aspects of gambling policy by experts in the fields of public policy, law, psychiatry, rhetoric, religion, economics, and politics. The contributors address all areas of the debate, including the following: -- What moral issues are at the center of the debate? -- What are the true economic costs and benefits of legalized gambling? How are they often hidden or misconstrued in order to support either prohibition or legalization? -- How has the history of gambling in America shaped our current policies? -- Is governmental regulation an invasion of personal privacy? -- What are the legitimate uses of laws? -- Is "pathological gambling" a justifiable medical diagnosis? -- Do gambling establishments run by Native Americans deserve special consideration or regulation? "(In a lottery) ... the tax is laid on the willing only, that is to say, on those who can risk the price of a ticket without sensible injury for the possibility of a higher prize". -- Thomas Jefferson

Provides international perspectives on issues of public policy, regulation, law enforcement, historic and social views, and characteristics of gaming industries in jurisdictions around the world.

Written by a lawyer and an economist, Governing Fortune summarizes the legal framework supporting the gaming industry and reviews the costs and benefits of casinos by showing how tax base and job growth vary widely with site-specific factors. The book sets forth an innovative proposal for the licensing of gamblers as a means to balance the liberty interests of individuals against the social costs generated from problem gambling behavior. Morse and Goss offer both regional and sector comparisons of the gaming industry and accessible data about every aspect of the gaming environment, including the impact of gambling on economic and social environments. "Goss and Morse provide an outstandingly sound economic understanding of the function and place of casinos in American society, including essential heretofore unavailable grounding in the legal issues that the book accomplishes remarkably effectively. Moreover, this wealth of economic and legal information is transmitted in an engaging and readable manner. Scholarly, thoughtfully collected and authoritative, the book is of interest to any learner of the gambling industry, including students, civic activists, legislators, and scholars." — Earl Grinols, Baylor University "In this book, Morse and Goss make important contributions to our understanding of the negative outcomes of the expansion of gambling in America." — Jon Bruning, Nebraska Attorney General Edward A. Morse is Professor of Law and holder of the McGrath North Mullin & Kratz Endowed Chair in Business Law at Creighton University School of Law. Ernest P. Goss is Professor of Economics and MacAllister Chair at Creighton University and was a 2004 scholar-in-residence with the Congressional Budget Office.

During the 1990s the gambling industry transformed its image by referring to itself as the gaming industry . While critics of the industry scoffed at this transformation as merely a meaningless name change, it has had profound effects on the business and public policies that face the newly transformed gaming industry. The book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the historical and cultural forces that have shaped the new gaming industry. Emphasis is placed on the two types of games (agon games of skill, and alea games of chance). It is shown that the types of games a society embraces have a significant impact on whether gambling is permitted to enter the mainstream of the entertainment industry. The second part of the book analyzes how each segment (pari mutuel betting, lotteries and casinos) competes in the new industry. The political and social implications of gaming are the focus of the final part, which concludes with a series of recommendations that will enable the industry, public policy officials and anti gambling activists to construct policies that mitigate some of the problems associated with gambling. The book will be of particular interest to students, practitioners and scholars in public policy. It will also be pertinent to readers in economics, political science and business.