Adolescent gambling advertising awareness: A national survey

Abstract

While influence of gambling advertisements on adolescents in some jurisdictions is recognised as an important public health issue, research examining this influence is currently limited. The present study examined gambling advertising awareness among adolescents, how they perceive gambling advertisement's impact, and how gambling advertisement awareness relates to adolescent's gambling behaviour. A sample of Danish adolescents (n = 1137) aged 12-16 were surveyed using a self-administered web questionnaire. It was found that (a) participants reported high exposure to gambling advertising with males reporting higher exposure to advertising than females, (b) the general self-perceived impact of these advertisements was relatively low, and (c) self-perceived impact of gambling advertising was associated with monetary spending on gambling activities and at-risk or a problematic gambling. Restrictions on gambling advertisements and collaboration between national gambling authorities with social media platforms in order to identify and remove youth-targeted gambling advertisements were specified as relevant policy implications.

Exposure to gambling promotions and gambling behaviours in Australian secondary school students

“…Current findings highlight the need to further explore the impacts of online gambling advertising on young people’s gambling behaviours, particularly in the Australian context. The link between online advertising and youth gambling is concerning given the rapid expansion of gambling advertising into the digital sphere via online and social media marketing, ( Torrance et al, 2021 ) and that young people tend to have the highest use of the internet and social media ( Gainsbury et al, 2016 , Kristiansen and Severin-Nielsen, 2021 ). Young people can access gambling via betting or related apps, ( King et al, 2020 ) where online advertising may be targeted towards the types of gambling activities that the young person engages in.…”

“…A 2016 review found that most gambling operators did not incorporate responsible gambling messaging in their use of social media, despite this being a requirement of most advertising codes of conduct ( Gainsbury et al, 2016 ). In addition, advertising via social media may be particularly appealing to young people, because postings might not be recognised as advertising, and content can be shared and promoted by peers, including to underage users ( Kristiansen and Severin-Nielsen, 2021 , O’Loughlin and Blaszczynski, 2018 ). Restrictions on gambling advertising have been identified as a potentially cost-effective measure for reducing harms associated with gambling ( Bouguettaya et al, 2020 , Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ).…”

“…Restrictions on gambling advertising have been identified as a potentially cost-effective measure for reducing harms associated with gambling ( Bouguettaya et al, 2020 , Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ). The current study highlights the need to continue to regulate all forms of gambling advertising, as well as expand and enforce such restrictions on online gambling advertising ( Kristiansen & Severin-Nielsen, 2021 ).…”

“…However, there has been surprisingly little research examining the potential impact of gambling advertisements on young people’s gambling behaviour, particularly in the last 10 years when such advertising has proliferated ( Labrador et al, 2021 ). The existing research suggests that adolescent exposure to advertising is associated with an increase in the likelihood of engaging in gambling activities ( Abdi et al, 2015 , Freund et al, 2022 , Hayer et al, 2018 , Kristiansen and Severin-Nielsen, 2021 , Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ). For example, in a 2018 sample of 1,174 Spanish 12 to 20 year-olds, overall exposure to gambling advertising across different media, ranging from low to high exposure, was found to be associated with gambling frequency and problem gambling ( Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ).…”

Reducing population exposure to unhealthy commodity advertising: evaluation of the Bristol Advertising and Sponsorship Policy (pre-intervention Data Collection)

“…• Advertising of loan advancers which meet the Financial Standards Authority's definition of 'High Cost Short Term (HCST)' Similar to advertisement for HFSS (and alcohol and tobacco products), associations between gambling advertisement and adverse impact, especially on young people, have been described (23,24), including on self-perceived at-risk or problematic gambling (25); mainly through triggering impulses to gamble (26). This new Advertisement Policy came into force at the end of 2021, but practically came into effect in April 2022 when the first existing advertising contracts came to an end.…”