About
Per Binde
 I have a PhD in
social anthropology and holds a position as researcher at
CEFOS – Center for
Public Sector Research –
Göteborg University. During the course of my research in gambling,
I have become quite an avid gambler myself. My favorite game is the V75 (a
"pick seven" trotting game); twice in two years I picked all the
seven winning horses and sixteen times missed only one.
I am member of the
board of directors of the
Gaming Board in
Sweden (Lotteriinspektionen). The Gaming Board is a state authority with
overall responsibility for licensing and supervision within the field of
gambling. As such, it acts as a safeguard for the consumers’
interests and contributes to reducing the potential risks for social
harmful effects associated with gambling. I am also member of the expert
group of the official Inquiry on Gambling, Ministry of Finance (Spelutredningen
Fi 2007:07). This inquiry will present a proposal for a strengthened
and sustainable regulation of gambling in Sweden.
 From an anthropological point of view,
I reject the narrow-minded and derogatory view of gambling as a shallow
and irrational activity, driven by a desire for money and practiced
principally by escapists and sensation-seeking people. This moralizing
view is too often voiced in the public debate and colors also some
academic works on gambling. Gambling is no more or less trivial or
irrational than other activities that fascinate people. Gambling is part
of our culture. In this perspective, disordered and excessive gambling
emerges as a multidimensional social and individual problem.
My articles have appeared in academic journals,
such as Journal of Gambling Studies, International Gambling Studies,
Gaming Law Review, Journal of Gambling Issues, Anthropological Quarterly and
EPD: Society and Space,
as well as in edited
volumes from Earthscan, Doxa and other publishing houses. I have written
two book-size reports on gambling advertising (in Swedish); one
overview and one
empirical study based on
interviews
with problem gamblers.
My book Bodies of Vital Matter
was in 2001
awarded the Giuseppe Pitrč - Salvatore Salomone Marino International
Prize for Demo-ethno-anthropological Studies. The Pitrč Prize is
annually offered by the
Centro Internazionale di Etnostoria of
Palermo, in cooperation with a number of other academic organizations
and the City of Palermo. To read more about this award-winning book on
Italian culture,
click here.
Per Binde at the
rostrum |
