“Gambling in Canada—From Vice to Disease to Responsibility: A Negotiated History”

Abstract

Gamblers and gambling have been variously viewed as derelict, immoral or criminal. Since the mid-1960s, notions of gambling generally and excessive gambling specifically have been reconstructed. Gambling, if done in moderation, is today generally viewed as an acceptable form of leisure. Those who gamble to the extent that relationships, family, friends, physical, social and mental health, employment, or finances are adversely affected are now regarded as having a problem and offered government-sponsored therapeutic intervention. Recent developments in this transformative process have witnessed the emergence of coalitions of seemingly disparate interests seeking to promote responsible gambling. Our discussion charts these changing conceptions of gambling.