This book is a study of the British casino industry and how it has been shaped by criminality, prohibition, regulation and liberalization since the beginning of the First World War.
The reader will gain a detailed knowledge of the history, culture, identity and participants within the British casino industry, which has, to date, escaped the attention of a dedicated historical and criminological investigation. This monograph fills this gap in inquiry while drawing on primary source material that has not been used previously, including, but not confined to, records in the National Archives relating to the Gaming Board of Great Britain and the Metropolitan Police. In addition to archive material, oral histories, newspapers, published journals and books have been utilised and referenced where appropriate.
Envisaged to close a gap in historical research, this book will be of interest to historians, criminologists, regulators, students and individuals interested in gambling, society and cultural history.
Introduction; 1. Gaming, Suppression and Prejudice: Gaming before the Great War; 2. Gaming and the Law 1939-1960; 3. The Tortuous Road to the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act; 4. The Dance of the Seven Veils: Gaming in Britain under the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act; 5. The 1968 Betting and Gaming Act; 6. Gangsters, Ponces and Thieves: The Gaming Act 1968 and the Gaming Board for Great Britain; 7. Blood on the Carpet: The Enforcement of the 1968 Gaming Act; 8. Towards Deregulation ... and Beyond; References; General Bibliography; Appendix I Annual Drop (Cash Exchanged for Chips) Casinos 1972-2005; Index
Biography
Seamus Murphy worked for 28 years in land-based casinos before moving into the remote casino sector. During that time, he received a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Luton and a PhD from De Montfort University in Leicester. He is currently Course Coordinator for Criminology at the University of Bedfordshire.
"Murphy draws upon his personal experience of the commercial gambling industry as well as extensive archival research to produce a fascinating study of what can happen when an illegal market is legalized with little thought given to its subsequent regulation and latterly the consequences of deregulation as a result of sustained pressure from industry lobbyists." - Mark Roodhouse (University of York), Twentieth Century British History
