“It is always there in your face.” Australian young people discuss exposure to gambling activities and promotions.

Young people’s views about the use of celebrities and social media influencers in gambling marketing

“…The findings show that, from the perspective of young people, the use of celebrities and SMIs is an effective strategy used by the gambling industry to bring attention to gambling advertisements, increase trust in gambling and gambling brands and reduce perceptions of the risks associated with gambling products and engaging in gambling. The study also demonstrates the importance of ensuring that research investigating the impact of gambling marketing strategies on young people takes into account how young people are exposed to marketing via a range of media channels outside of traditional television advertising or sporting environments ( Thomas et al ., 2023b ).…”

“…Examples of the visual prompts included screenshots of promotions for online gambling that featured images of celebrities, tweets that featured popular influencers playing a poker tournament, and a video of a lottery promotion that featured a well-known Australian YouTuber. These were selected by members of the team based on information about marketing strategies provided by children in previous studies ( Pitt et al ., 2023 ; Thomas et al ., 2023b ), and to ensure that a range of different marketing strategies were presented to young people for comment. The participant information sheet highlighted to parents that gambling marketing would be shown during the interview.…”

“…Marketing strategies have also contributed to the rapid normalization of gambling for children and young people ( Djohari et al ., 2019 ; Nyemcsok et al ., 2021 ; Riley et al ., 2021 ). In most countries, children are not permitted to engage in commercial gambling until they are 18 years or older (with some exceptions for lotteries), yet they are increasingly exposed to gambling promotions in multiple media and community environments ( Smith et al ., 2020 ; Thomas et al ., 2023b ). This exposure has had clear impacts, including increased awareness and recall of gambling company brands ( Pitt et al ., 2017a ; Nyemcsok et al ., 2018 ); positive perceptions and approval of gambling as a normal or valued activity (particularly aligned with sport) ( Pitt et al ., 2016b ; Djohari et al ., 2019 ); reduced perceptions of the risks associated with gambling ( Pitt et al ., 2017a ; Nyemcsok et al ., 2018 ); and an intention to try gambling in the future ( Pitt et al ., 2017b ; Nyemcsok et al ., 2018 ).…”

“…Most studies investigating gambling marketing have largely focused on television advertising strategies for online gambling products, particularly those aligned with major sporting codes ( Pitt et al ., 2016a ; Clemens et al ., 2017 ; Pitt et al ., 2018 ; Labrador et al ., 2021 ). However, more recent research has shown that the gambling industry uses a range of unique appeal strategies, including on social media platforms, to reach younger audiences ( Pitt et al ., 2023 ; Thomas et al ., 2023b ).…”

Older adults' perceptions of the risks associated with contemporary gambling environments: Implications for public health policy and practice

“…This includes how different population subgroups negotiate changes in the gambling environment. Gambling infrastructure has become embedded in social, symbolic, and physical environments (Thomas et al, 2023 ) which represents a source of risk for individuals or groups, such as the effect of increased accessibility on frequent gambling behavior (Egerer and Marionneau, 2019 ; Thomas et al, 2022 ).…”