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Finally, we must consider the emergence of new
forms of gambling and ask what will be the
impacts of the implosion of this means of
consumption into the home (Ritzer, 1999). As
Cividino (2002) notes, women represent a rapidly
expanding segment of the on-line gambling
population and there is a growing number of
specialized Web sites for women gamblers.
On-line gambling offers excitement and escape
but also local availability, flexible hours, a
low price of participation and physical and
emotional safety — features especially appealing
to women. It would be wise to give careful
consideration to measures to prevent gambling
problems in this new and very private gaming
venue.
Qualitative research is viewed with skepticism
by most gambling researchers, and there is
little appreciation of its value in generating
testable hypotheses. The exercise undertaken
here has raised numerous issues that deserve
further exploration. While not yet a single,
coherent "theory" of gambling or problem
gambling, testing the hypotheses generated here
is likely to move us significantly forward in
our efforts to understand the role of gambling
in postmodern society.
Are more women gambling?
In considering changes in gambling over time, a
more complicated picture emerges. Past-year
gambling on gaming machines declined across the
board in Montana, with the steepest decline
among women in minority groups. In Oregon,
past-year gambling on gaming machines declined
among white women but went up among women in
minority groups. In Washington, where gaming
machines were introduced in the period between
the two surveys, past-year participation rose
from a baseline of zero to about 10% across all
gender and ethnic groups.
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