Gambling and social theory - part 1.

In this blog post from the journal Critical Gambling Studies, the author addresses biases found in gambling research, focusing on 'problem gambling' research, and argues for the inclusion of social theories in gambling studies. He analyses how a researcher’s participation or non-participation in gambling activities can affect their approaches and create biases in their research on gambling. Specifically addressing 'problem gambling' research, he argues that this research field inadvertently contributes to negative biases against gambling activities and focuses on the individual, limiting research results, and the type of research being conducted. The author introduces the journal Critical Gambling Studies, which will focus on the social organization of gambling and will diversify the research being conducted. He then outlines theories that will be included in Critical Gambling Studies such as sociological theory, systems theory, classical theory, fields, and phenomenology, and explains how they will contribute to the field