The Pull of the Fruit Machine: A Sociological Typology of Young Players
- 1 August 1993
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Sociological Review
- Vol. 41 (3) , 446-474
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954x.1993.tb00073.x
Abstract
This paper seeks to provide a sociological account of how children and young people orient to fruit machine gambling. The account is based upon the findings of an ethnographic study and is presented in the form of a typology. Arcade Kings and their Apprentices, Machine Beaters, Escape Artists, Action Seekers and Rent-a-Spacers comprise a classification which includes ‘addicts’ as well as ‘social gamblers’. The typology reveals the multi-dimensional nature of fruit machine gambling as a leisure pursuit. It thus provides a theoretical contribution to the sociology of gambling as well as an ‘ethnographic road map’ for researchers and counsellors in the field.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- Measuring pathological gambling in children: The case of fruit machines in the U.K.Journal of Gambling Studies, 1992
- Fruit machine addiction: two briefcase studies From Mark Griffiths (Polytechnic South West, Plymouth)British Journal of Addiction, 1991
- Governmental response to juvenile fruit machine gambling in the U.K: Where do we go from here?Journal of Gambling Studies, 1991
- The cognitive psychology of gamblingJournal of Gambling Studies, 1990
- Going on tilt: Frequent poker players and controlJournal of Gambling Studies, 1989
- The impact of gender on gambling attitudes and behaviorJournal of Gambling Studies, 1987
- It's a great feeling when you win: women and bingoLeisure Studies, 1987
- Gambling: A Sociological ReviewThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1984
- Adolescents and Video GamesYouth & Society, 1983
- The Micro and Macro Dimensions of Gambling in the United StatesJournal of Social Issues, 1979