The Casino and Society in Britain
This book is a study of the British casino industry and how it has been shaped by criminality, prohibition, regulation and liberalization since the beginning of the First World War.
The reader will gain a detailed knowledge of the history, culture, identity and participants within the British casino industry, which has, to date, escaped the attention of a dedicated historical and criminological investigation. This monograph fills this gap in inquiry while drawing on primary source material that has not been used previously, including, but not confined to, records in the National Archives relating to the Gaming Board of Great Britain and the Metropolitan Police. In addition to archive material, oral histories, newspapers, published journals and books have been utilised and referenced where appropriate.
Envisaged to close a gap in historical research, this book will be of interest to historians, criminologists, regulators, students and individuals interested in gambling, society and cultural history.
Seamus Murphy worked for 28 years in land-based casinos before moving into the remote casino sector. During that time, he received a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Luton and a PhD from De Montfort University in Leicester. He is currently Course Coordinator for Criminology at the University of Bedfordshire.
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The Casino and Society in Britain
Seamus Murphy
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First published 2021
by Routledge
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2021 Seamus Murphy
The right of Seamus Murphy to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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ISBN: 978-1-138-31895-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-45420-2 (ebk)
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For Diarmuid
This book charts the regulation of casino-style gaming in the United Kingdom from 1900 to 2007 and the effect the regulatory regime had on its development. Though the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act legalised casino gaming, its purpose, other than to legitimise off-course cash betting on horse racing, was to make casino gaming commercially unfeasible, though this proved an impossible task and a change of approach was soon required. The most important piece of legislation relating to casino gaming in the period under review was the 1968 Gaming Act which was almost solely concerned with legitimising casino gaming. In doing so, it pulled off one of the greatest legislative balancing acts the United Kingdom has ever experienced by combining a socially responsible approach to legitimising an activity, which is, to this day, perceived by many as evil, immoral and potentially dangerous to individuals and society in general. The 1968 Act not only simply legalised a gambling activity but also shaped the gaming industry that was to emerge in Britain in the late 20th century so that it was quite unlike its counterparts elsewhere. The principle of unstimulated demand that underpinned the Act was designed to protect the British public at large from the temptations which casino owners and operators might otherwise have set before them. The 1968 Act has cast a long shadow. The difficulties encountered by later attempts to deregulate gaming simply underline the idea that the 1968 Act struck a perfect compromise between liberalisation and social responsibility.
It is, perhaps, useful to explain how and why I came to choose this subject, or how and why it chose me. I am influenced here, to some extent, by Douglas Booths recent comments on the importance of reflexivity and by his opening statement in The Field: Some knowledge about the origins of, and influences on, this [thesis] may help readers understand my arguments and conclusions.
I was first encouraged to undertake this research while studying for my first degree under Dr Mark Clapson and Dr Nick Tiratsoo at the University of Luton, but I was drawn to it as a subject of study primarily because I had been making a living in the gaming industry for a period of 27 years, most of my working life. I am the second generation of my family to work in the British casino industry. In August 1983, my mother secured my first position at a casino in Luton where she was the general manager. Since then, I have worked in land-based casinos in Britain, Poland and the Bahamas and have, since 2008, transferred my questionable skills to the online sector. I dealt the usual casino gamesroulette, blackjack, Punto Bancoand other table games, which were introduced throughout my time in the industry. However, I specialised as a dice dealer, a working reference that stood me in good stead when securing dealing positions abroad.
In 1993, after spells abroad, I returned to work in London and spent 15 years at the Victoria Casino on Edgware Road. The Victoria is possibly the most famous UK casino and definitely the busiest. I worked with numerous colleagues who had worked within the industry under the 1960 and 1968 Gaming Acts, as did my mother, and their reminiscences constantly refreshed my interest in researching the industry. My 27 years in the industry have allowed me to witness the way in which it operated under the 1968 Act, its slow yet steady deregulation in the 1990s and its eventual liberalisation under the 2005 Gambling Bill. I have attempted to avoid referring to myself within this study wherever possible, but it may be important to note here that I have developed my own views on recent policy developments affecting the industry. In particular, I felt very strongly that the removal of the principle of unstimulated demand and the abolition of requirements for membership in casinos to be irresponsible. However, I have tried, as far as possible, to keep this to one side when considering the history of gaming legislation and its impact of the gaming experience.
