In chapter eight of “The sociology of Gabmling,” by Mikal Aasved, it explores gambling and the general public. A survey conducted by the University of Michigan known as the second Gallup organization telephone survey was used to predict the expansion of legalized gambling within the United States. The survey consisted 1,564 adults from the United States. The results were used to counter myths about gamble. One myth it counters was “gambling is especially attractive to the poor and therefore tends to victimize those who can least afford it.” The results that disputed this myth was the fact that the majority of respondents that wanted to expand the legalization of gambling were middle class Americans. Another myth that was refuted was that rates …show more content…
It consisted of 1,208 American adults. 71% of the respondents reported gambling that year and 31% gambled on a weekly basis. 10% of the respondents claimed that they never gambled. An explanation given for not gambling dealt with moral or religious reasoning. The demographics of those that never gambled were usually “older, more religious, less affluent,” avoided alcohol, and lived in the South. One conclusion drawn from the survey was that many Americans gambled, but very small amounts over a wide variety of games. This conclusion was drawn because 61% of the respondents reported winning or losing less than fifty dollars. Additionally, the survey reported gender difference. 58% of men were likely to gamble at least once a month in comparison to only 41% of women. Men preferred games that relied on skill, while women preferred games that relied on chance (Aasved …show more content…
Lotteries were reported as growing the faster and the most popular in 1989. 54% of “all the nation’s adults had purchased lottery tickets in the 12 months prior to the survey.” However, the people that bought lottery tickets could not be considered heavy gamblers because they only “spent an average of $5 per week on lottery tickets.” In comparison, bingo only appealed to 13% of the gamblers. Only 3% of them played weekly. The demographics consisted of mostly lower class women, with a Catholic affiliation. Both young and old were likely to play. However, weekly players were more likely to be older (214). Another category included was games of skill. This category consisted of “sports betting, card playing, and pari-mutuel betting.” People that preferred these types of games were more likely to play on weekly basis and bet more money in comparison to those that preferred games of chance. The demographics of these respondents were mostly “affluent young Catholic males who also drank and smoked.” Their motivation for gambling included, “the enjoyment of risk and the excitement it generates”