Gambling at home: the family and risky consumption practices

This paper draws on recent and on-going research into 'at home‘ gambling practices including a project on gender and gambling that was funded by the National Lottery Commission. The paper argues that much existing work into gambling has tended to focus firstly on accounts of deviant, 'problem‘ gamblers, and secondly on gambling which takes place in public spaces. In short, current research is skewed towards spectacular and special gambling practices. This parallels research into consumption behaviour more generally which has frequently neglected the domestic rituals and routines of consumption in favour of accounts of public 'spectacles‘ of consumption (see Casey and Martens, 2007). This paper will argue that gambling scholarship has much tobenefit from refocusing attentiontowards an examination of the mundane and everyday practice of gambling particularly in domestic settings. The paper uncovers some of the unique and novel pleasures and experiences of domestic gambling practices. It also exposes the role that the family plays in monitoring and controlling gambling spending, participation and 'risk‘.