In some American neighborhoods, you are likely to find not only a church but a liquor store on almost every main corner. Well here in Britian, you are more likely to find a betting shop on every high street, sometimes two or three. The net result is that more and more people are gambling. In fact:

Britons gambled £50 billion last year – more than the state spent on defence and transport combined. That represents more than £800 for every man, woman and child and is a seven-fold increase on the total gambled in 2001.

Wow! I guess this is good for the economy, but I have my doubts about how positive this is for our society in general.