Gambling: Towards a sociological analysis of action and interaction in the betting shop environment.

Abstract

The topic I chose for this study was gambling. There were two main reasons for this: The first was through a personal interest of my own in the area. The introduction to gambling came through an interest in horse racing. On being brought to the races as a child I was always fascinated by the assembled bookmakers, perched above the crowd as if men of importance, and crying their odds at the top of their voices. The atmosphere generated by these men was fascinating and the amount of custom attracted as a result was terrifying. The common opinion held at the race track was that the bookmaker always won, so to me, betting seemed a pointless activity. However my opinion dramatically changed when I backed my first winner and quadrupled my money as a result. Gambling then became an interesting activit