A new EU research led by Professor Rebecca Cassidy who an ERC Starting Grant proposes a new approach to gambling focusing on its social and cultural aspects rather than on its pathological implications. The research team focuses on four case studies representing some of the most important features of gambling in Europe. Gambling in Europe is estimated to be worth €89 billion.

The University of London has started a research project funded by an ERC Starting Grant such as the grants published by the ERC in July 2011, with a new approach to gambling focusing on its social and cultural aspects rather than on its pathological implications. The research team led by Professor Rebecca Cassidy is focusing on the changing technological and transnational dimensions of gambling and at the same time embeds individual gambling decisions within their various social and cultural contexts.

The Gambling in Europe project focuses on four case studies representing some of the most important features of gambling in Europe and combining methodologies including participant observation to suit the overall research questions. The four case studies cover spread betting among financial traders in the UK, domestic and commercial gambling in Cyprus, the UK remote gambling industry and finally casino workers, gamblers and their families in the border region of Italy and Slovenia.

The researchers aim at forming the basis of a new approach that matches the dynamism and internationalism of the European gambling industry. Legislation is not harmonised at EU level and national governments are moving between containment and revenue generation. In parallel, operators use evolving technologies to create new markets working within obsolete legislation.