9.Is gambling an irrational form of consumption - Essay Example

Johnson et al. (1999, p.19) tried to identify the taxation provisions that refer to gambling in UK and came to the conclusion that ‘betting-shop gamblers in the UK face a tax on gambling of 10%, but have the choice of paying the tax either at the time of wager or on any return on a successful bet; more than 18% of bets appear to be placed by gamblers who choose to pay tax on the return.’. The above study focuses on a particular aspect of gambling, the taxation. However, gambling is not only part of the national economy.

It is mainly a human activity that needs to be explored as of its reasons. In the literature, gambling has been related with the consumption; it is stated by many theorists and researchers (the relevant views are presented in the sections that follow) that gambling is rather an ‘irrational’ form of consumption. The validity of this assumption will be proved through the analysis that is made in the paragraphs that follow. Gambling should be characterized as the activity of spending money on various types of games that offer the chance of profit (the monetary amount spent in gambling is less from the amount expected to be received).

The level of the money spent on gambling and the chances for achieving a specific profit are depended on the terms and the conditions of each game. Through the years, gambling has been expanded in the Internet. Regarding this issue, the study of Brindley (1999, p.281) showed that ‘gambling via interactive technology is already underpinned by two recent changes in consumer behaviour: first, increasing familiarisation with interactive technology and second, by changes in the way the gambling market operates; the synergy between marketing gambling and technology will transform the production and consumption of gambling’.

In other words, the characteristics of gambling are expected to be changed continuously following the trends of the