Per Binde

Social Anthropology
Associate professor

About

• PhD in social anthropology in 1997
• Appointed Associate professor in 2010
• Employed as researcher at the University of Gothenburg since 1997
• Member of the board of directors of the Gaming Board for Sweden

Previous research areas

• Symbolism, ritual and myth relating to the human body in South Italian cultural tradition (doctoral thesis)
• The symbolic landscape of the city of Rome
• Risk perception, risk communication and siting controversy in a large scale infrastructure project

Areas of interest

Per Binde has studied gambling since 2001. His interest in gambling is broad, including regulation issues and problem gambling, but with a focus on the cultural roots of gambling and its social contexts. Binde has done extensive field studies in Swedish gambling venues.

With ethnographic and historical sources as a base, he has analyzed the distribution of gambling in the pre-colonial world, the relationships between gambling and socio-economic systems, and between gambling and religion. Binde has made an interview study on how problem gamblers perceive gambling advertising and an in-depth study of a mutual support society of problem gamblers.

Read more about Per Binde’s gambling research at his websit The Anthropology of Gambling

Previous research

Per Binde’s current research follows several tracks in the multidisciplinary field of gambling studies. There are currently two priority research areas;

• Gambling Cultures. Theory is developed that will provide a better understanding of the motives for gambling and the formation of place-specific gambling cultures.
• Ethnicity and problem gambling. Prevalence studies typically show that problem gambling is more common among minority ethnic groups than among the population in general. Qualitative research is needed to explain why it is so.

Teaching and tutoring

Supervision and examination at the School of Global Studies. Binde is a sought-after speaker and has over the past ten years delivered numerous lectures on gambling and problem gambling for public authorities, gaming companies and nonprofit organizations.