Place your bets for the US gambling boom

The fiscal crisis in America is changing attitudes towards gambling, and the industry is poised to expand hugely. Matthew Partridge suggests some of the best ways to cash in.

America has always had a conflicted attitude towards gambling. Casino cities such as Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada and Atlantic City in New Jersey have become world famous. The image of Vegas as the ultimate hedonistic retreat is a staple of Western popular culture, while the award-winning television series Boardwalk Empire is based on the rise of Atlantic City (though gambling was only legalised there in 1976).

Gambling also makes a significant contribution to the US economy. The American Gaming Association claims casinos alone generated $125bn in 2010, or 1% of GDP.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri