Hooked

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

How did Big Gambling become too big to fail and too powerful to adequately regulate?

Australians lose around $32 billion on legal forms of gambling each year, the most of any country in the world, while the industry rakes in $244 billion through poker machines, lotteries, casinos and the exponential rise in sports betting. In Hooked, Quentin Beresford explores how gambling expanded from a highly restricted recreational activity to a mega industry. He asks, what's the balance between entertainment and social harm? What does the crisis reveal about the troubling intersection between business and politics? And, finally, how can the gambling industry be reined in?

With a cast of questionable characters, iconic corporate brands, eye-watering greed, political subterfuge and the many state and federal politicians who have sold out to the gambling industry, Hooked exposes the underbelly of gambling in Australia.

'A gripping account of how the gambling ecosystem grew to be Australia's version of the NRA.' Charles Livingstone

'An exceptional account of the history and predatory behaviour of the gambling industry...and a powerful acknowledgement of all those people who suffer in the clutches of the executives who run and profit from these companies.' Andrew Wilkie

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9781761170256
Published: November 2025

Number of pages: 368
Width: 153 mm
Height: 234 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: NewSouth Publishing