In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in expenditure on various forms of gambling and prediction markets, including casinos, sports betting, lotteries, wagering on financial instruments. The rapid growth in this activity has heightened interest in a variety of public policy issues related to this sector.

Managers and policymakers seek guidance on how to tax and regulate this activity within regions, countries, and across national borders. Unfortunately, there is little systematic theoretical and empirical evidence to guide such decisions, given the somewhat embryonic nature of the literature. Furthermore, gambling and prediction markets provide a unique and convenient framework within which to examine fundamental issues relating to traditional areas of economics. For these reasons, this is an opportune time to address questions relating to gambling and prediction markets in a special issue of the Southern Economic Journal.

• Donald Siegel, University of California, Riverside
• David Paton, Nottingham University Business School
• Leighton Vaughan Williams, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University
• William Ziemba, University of British Columbia

The symposium is also being held in association with the Journal of Prediction Markets and the Journal of Gambling Business and Economics. Papers presented at the conference may, at the discretion of the authors, also be considered for publication in either of these journals.

Research questions that contributors to the symposium might address are:

• What is the optimal level and structure of taxation for various forms of gambling?
• What are the implications of new forms of financial instruments based on gambling principles, such as ‘spread’ (index) betting, binary betting, and person-to-person ‘exchange’ betting?
• How does the growth of gambling affect the broader economy?
• What factors influence productivity and other performance indicators in the gambling sector?
• Does gambling promote economic development?
• How should governments regulate 'Indian' gaming?
• What are the managerial and policy implications of online gambling?
• How can prediction markets be used in decision-making?
• Are there systematic biases in betting and prediction markets?
• How well do prediction markets relative to other forecasting tools, such as opinion polls?
• What is the optimal design of prediction markets?
• What are the applications of prediction markets?
• What is the empirical evidence on information efficiency in betting markets and what implications does this have for our broader understanding of financial and prediction markets?

Papers on related issues not explicitly listed above are also very welcome.

Submissions (an abstract will be sufficient at this stage) must be made on or before 23 May 2008. After the symposium, selected papers will be externally reviewed according to standard policies of the Southern Economic Journal. Papers (or abstracts) should be submitted to Professor Leighton Vaughan Williams.

The special issue conference will now be held at Nottingham Business School 15 and 16 September 16, 2008, with a welcome reception on Sunday 14 September.

The registration fee is £235 + VAT, to include the conference dinner and refreshments, or £375 + VAT to also include two nights’ accommodation at the Days Inn Nottingham. Delegates not presenting papers for consideration in the special issue are also welcome to attend the conference at the advised rates.

To register, or if you have any conference queries, contact Julie Stravino, Conference Organiser at Nottingham Trent University on +44 (0)115 848 6090.