Gambling

Gambling, wagering of money or other item of value on an uncertain event that is dependent either wholly on chance, as in roulette, or partly on chance and partly on skill, as in certain card games and in sporting contests. Gambling has been practised by people throughout history. Anthropologists, who have found evidence of games of chance among early peoples, contend that the attitude of early humankind towards gambling derived from their general attitude towards the environment. To these people the world was a mysterious place controlled by supernatural beings whose favour or disfavour was manifested through chance situations and the outcome of such events as hunts, wars, and games of chance; instruments of divination frequently included objects used in gambling.

As people gradually acquired knowledge of the nature of their environment and interpreted it in terms of cause and effect, their attitude towards gambling changed. Games of chance became pastimes, but the ancient belief that a lucky gambler was favoured by the gods persisted. Among the upper classes of the peoples of antiquity, gambling was frequently associated with extravagance and licentiousness. During the Middle Ages, in times of trouble, rabbis in European Jewish communities banned dice games and other games of chance. Gambling was also proscribed by some Eastern religions, such as Confucianism, by the Koran of Islam, and by the moral codes of many Protestant denominations.

Today gambling occurs in practically all nations and takes a great variety of forms. Among the most widespread practices are betting on the outcome of horse and greyhound races; of boxing matches; and of most team sports including cricket, football, and basketball. Most money is bet on horse racing followed by bets on football matches, particularly on football pools in which gamblers attempt to forecast eight matches which will end in draws. Other popular footballing bets include the forecast of final scores or certain combinations of wins. People can bet throughout the year by alternating between the Australian and British football seasons, and this form of betting is extremely popular in South East Asia, where the gamblers can watch the matches live on satellite television. Attempts on the part of professional gamblers to fix the outcome of such games have caused numerous scandals and provoked many representatives of organized sports to oppose professionally arranged betting on such events. Other common forms of gambling include roulette, card and dice games, and bingo. The lottery, a form of gambling that dates from ancient times, is used as a money-raising technique by many religious groups, charities, and governments. One of the most recent is the weekly British national lottery which began in November 1994. Participants try to match six numbers ranging from 1 to 49 with a selection drawn automatically. The range of possible combinations is so great that the jackpot prize each week is normally worth several million pounds. By 1995 approximately £60 million (US $95 million) was being wagered each week, and 28 per cent of the net receipts was allocated to national charities.

In general, the attitudes of governments towards gambling have been that the practice should be discouraged or regulated. In 1845, for example, the British Parliament passed an act providing that the courts could not be used to recover gambling debts.

One form of public betting that is popular worldwide is the totalizator system or “tote”. It originated in France where it is known as the pari-mutuel (“mutual stake”) system. It consists of a pool of betting moneys. Those who correctly predict winners in one or more races share the total amount taken minus a percentage for track management. Tote betting is often employed for horse and dog races and for jai alai games. The tote system serves as protection against dishonesty and facilitates the collection of gambling taxes.

Great Britain is currently one of the more permissive countries in regard to gambling. There is on-track betting at horse-racing and greyhound meetings. In addition, under laws enacted there in 1960 and 1963, betting shops for making wagers on races and sporting events have been licensed; games of chance are allowed in private clubs and casinos; and mechanical gambling devices such as slot machines are legal, provided that the odds are not weighted too heavily in favour of the owner, who is permitted only expenses and a “fair” recompense.