The Convergence of Work, Sport, and Gambling in America

• Author: H. Roy Kaplan
• Published date: 01 September 1979
• Date: 01 September 1979
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271627944500105
• Subject Matter: Articles

24

The

Convergence

of

Work,

Sport,

and

Gambling

in

America

By

H.

ROY

KAPLAN

H.

Roy

Kaplan

is

an

Associate

Professor

of

Sociology

at

the

State

University

of

New

York

at

Buffalo.

He

is

a

specialist

in

the

Sociology

of

Work

and

Gambling,

and

is

the

author

of

American

Minorities

and

Economic

Opportunity

and

Lottery

Winners,

in

addition

to

numerous

articles

on

these

topics.

In

1978,

he

received

the

William

E.

Mosher

Award

of the

American

Society

for

Public

Administration

for

an

article

in

the

Public

Administration

Review,

co-authored

with

Curt

Tausky.

Dr.

Kaplan

was

appointed

to

the

Casino

Gambling

Study

Panel

of

New

York

by

Governor

Hugh

Carey

in

1979.

ABSTRACT:

The

changing

nature

of

work

brought

about

by

increased

mechanization

and

the

division

and

specializa-

tion

of

labor

has

decreased

opportunities

for

meaningful,

satis-

fying

experiences

on

the

job.

Although

work

was

traditionally

the

only

legitimate

means

for

upward

mobility,

gambling

has

emerged

as

an

alternative

route

to

riches

and

a

method

for

escaping

the

tedium

of

contemporary

jobs.

Sports

have

be-

come

the

vehicle

through

which

the

majority

of

gambling

is

done.

The

proliferation

of

legalized

gambling

as

a

conse-

quence

of

boredom

in

the

world

of

work

not

only

diverts

public

attention

from

critical

social

issues

and

constructive

methods

for

handling

them,

it

also

demeans

sports

by

sub-

jugating

them

to

materialistic

escapist

ends.