The impact of gambling advertising: Problem gamblers report stronger impacts on involvement, knowledge, and awareness than recreational gamblers.

Abstract

Although there is a general lack of empirical evidence that advertising influences gambling participation, the regulation of gambling advertising is hotly debated among academic researchers, treatment specialists, lobby groups, regulators, and policy makers. This study contributes to the ongoing debate by investigating perceived impacts of gambling advertising in a sample of gamblers drawn from the general population in Norway (n = 6,034). Three dimensions of advertising impacts were identified, representing perceived impacts on (a) gambling-related attitudes, interest, and behavior ('Involvement'), (b) knowledge about gambling options and providers ('Knowledge'), and (c) the degree to which people are aware of gambling advertising ('Awareness'). Overall, impacts were strongest for the 'Knowledge' dimension, and, for all three dimensions, the impact increased with level of advertising exposure. Those identified as problem gamblers in the sample (n = 57) reported advertising impacts concerning 'Involvement' more than recreational gamblers, and this finding was not attributable to differences in advertising exposure. Additionally, younger gamblers reported stronger impacts on 'Involvement' and 'Knowledge' but were less likely to agree that they were aware of gambling advertising than older gamblers. Male gamblers were more likely than female gamblers to report stronger impacts on both 'Involvement' and 'Knowledge'. These findings are discussed with regard to existing research on gambling advertising as well as their implications for future research and policy-making.

Let me Take the Wheel: Illusory Control and Sense of Agency

“…Our data support the inclusion of an “illusory control” variable in systems currently in development for gauging the likely public harms of any specific (e.g., new) form of gambling (e.g., Meyer, Fiebig, Häfeli, & Mörsen, 2011). Finally, our observed association between gambling-related illusory control and the Contingency Judgment task may be useful for gambling researchers, as a means of assessing control perceptions with a task that does not involve direct gambling cues, which can induce cravings and relapse in treatment-seeking individuals (Hanss, Mentzoni, Griffiths, & Pallesen, 2015). …”

The perceived influence of sports betting marketing techniques on disordered gamblers in treatment

“…Participants in a study with a nationally representative sample of over 6,000 Norwegians gamblers reported that gambling advertising increased their knowledge of gambling brands, but did not have an impact on their gambling attitudes, interests, or behaviours. However, among problem gamblers, the same study noted that, after controlling for frequency of gambling advertising exposure, problem gamblers still experienced more advertisingderived impact than regular gamblers (Hanss et al, 2015).…”

“…Amongst the most prominent risk factors that these regulatory proposals emphasise is the vulnerability to gambling advertising of those already experiencing gambling disorder. Evidence from multiple jurisdictions has shown that excessive gamblers report higher levels of distress due to gambling advertising exposure, despite their perception that advertisements do not impact their gambling behaviour (Hanss, Mentzoni, Griffiths, & Pallesen, 2015;Hing, Lamont, Vitartas, & Fink, 2015), something also reported among adolescents (Derevensky et al, 2007). These studies typically rely on surveybased approaches with occasional and regular gamblers, while others recruit frequent gamblers for more in-depth qualitative studies (Thomas, Lewis, McLeod, & Haycock, 2012).…”

Gambling Marketing from 2014 to 2018: a Literature Review

“…In order to quantify the influence of gambling marketing, several studies have sought to explore what association (if any) there is between awareness of, and participation with, gambling marketing and problematic gambling. A Norwegian study showed that problem gamblers were more likely to be aware of gambling marketing and to report that it increased their involvement in gambling [48]. Australian sports bettors, and in particular problem gamblers, who report taking advantage of advertised financial incentives appear to place more impulsive bets [49].…”