Gambling on the future : video lottery terminals and social change in rural Newfoundland
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Date
2000-09
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Department of Anthropology, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Abstract
This thesis explores the roles played by video lottery terminals (VLTs) in the lives of twenty-five regular gamblers living in a rural, fishery-dependent region of eastern Newfoundland.
The introduction of VLTs into these communities occurred during a particularly dynamic
historical period. The sudden availability of electronic gambling machines in clubs throughout
the province during the early 1990s coincided closely with the federal government's
declaration of a moratorium on the fishery for northern cod, the economic staple of the region.
The restructuring of social and economic life that was induced by the fishery closure, and the
resulting compensation programs, helped to create conditions in which the playing of VLTs
assumed tremendous importance in the lives of certain area residents. These changes, in
conjunction with a long history of economic dependency, stimulated the development of a
distinct set of values which influenced the ways in which players learned to relate to each
other, and to the machines.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000.
Keywords
Video lottery terminals--Social aspects--Newfoundland and Labrador