ABSTRACT
There are many histories of gambling: social, economic, anthropological, psychological, technocratic, political, legal and biographical of persons and places. They explore the who, why, what and how of gambling: what kinds of gambling games were played at different times by individuals and classes of individuals, and what significance their participation in these games held for them and the societies of which they were members. Some aim to identify the characteristics of gambling games that attract the individual player first to engage and then to persist in the face of repeated losses, and remark upon the social and economic impact to which their engagement led. Yet others consider whether societies should regulate gambling, and if so, how they do so over time; histories also examine what notice governments and regulators should take, if any, of moral entrepreneurs who argue that gambling is, if not always materially harmful, spiritually or morally enervating.
