The history of gambling’s impact on Britain stretches back nearly a thousand years when during the Third Crusade Richard the Lionheart issued a decree banning his soldiers from playing any game for money unless in the presence of officers, who could interrupt games before they spilled over into violence. Those who broke the rules were liable to be whipped naked through a military camp for three days.

In the intervening millennium, gambling has evolved beyond military camps and into a multi-billion pound industry of casinos and online betting sites. In February 2022, investigative journalist and Guardian correspondent Rob Davies came to Intelligence Squared to discuss how Britain came to be one of the largest gambling markets in the world. Drawing on the themes of his new book Jackpot he argues that from the mainstreaming of gambling advertising in the early 2000s to the high-tech microtargeting of online gamblers today, the industry has profited from preying on the most vulnerable in society and conquered the nation.

In conversation with writer and investigative journalist at the Athletic Joey D’Urso, he uncovered the inner workings of one of the most notorious industries in the country and explore what can be done for its countless victims.