It also examines gambling from the participant's perspective and contrasts gambling's positive social rewards with the negative impact of financial loss. An analysis of the social worlds that surround gambling consider the distinctive features associated with five main forms of gambling: horse race gambling, sports betting, poker playing, casino gaming, and the buying of lottery chances. A discussion of illegal wagering focuses on the reasons it continues to thrive, despite broad legalization, and challenges the assumption that organized crime controls illegal bookmaking. Further sections argue for a redefinition of the term 'compulsive gambling' and for a reexamination of the effectiveness of treatment programs based solely on the medical model, while proposing an alternative model for problem gambling. Coping mechanisms regular gamblers use to mitigate the effects of inevitable losses are described, with emphasis on pragmatic strategies that offer clues to the origins and treatment of problem gambling. Gambling practices in England, other European countries, and Australia are described and compared with those in the United States; future trends in gambling practices and regulation are explored. Figure, chapter reference notes, and index.