Gambling advertising – as bad as they say?
GambleAware recently released new research showing that children and young people in Great Britain are being exposed to gambling content at record levels. A central concern is the role celebrities, sports stars and influencers play in promoting gambling.
We’re going to look at the statistics, the regulation (and its gaps), specific cases, and whether the current system protects children in the way it’s designed to.
GambleAware’s concerns
GambleAware mostly cites two reports, one by Social Finance and one by Sherbert Research. Both reports paint a pretty dismal picture of the amount, and impact, of gambling content in young people’s online lives. The research found that 87% of 13 -17 year olds reported seeing gambling content online. Considering this should not be happening at all, it’s a quite shocking figure.
Perhaps more concerning than this though, is the number of celebrities and influencers involved – and the power they hold over children. 16% of children say they have seen content creators advertising gambling, with some reporting they’ve seen influencers share sign-up codes, or even gambling tips and tricks. After viewing these videos and posts, 36% of boys aged 16-17 recalled gambling themselves.
Positives
The positives to be taken from this research are few, but there is one. Overwhelmingly young people understand that gambling is not for them. 67% think celebrities/influencers should not promote gambling and 79% believe under-18s should not be exposed to gambling ads or content at all.
Understandably, GambleAware has grave concerns. They’ve argued that the ubiquity of these messages is contributing to the normalisation of gambling among young people. We know that early exposure increases the risk of harm later in life. So, GambleAware has called for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to reevaluate celebrity involvement in gambling ads.
Counter argument #1
At what point does someone become a celebrity? And are there levels or measures of ‘celebrityness’? Could a League 1 footballer promote gambling because they're not that famous? Or someone in a band that hasn't had a hit for 10 years?
Additionally, whoever is determining whether or not someone is a ‘celebrity who appeals to children’ and shouldn't be used in gambling advertising is exercising a subjective view and essentially restraining that person's 'trade'.
The whole thing could be considered highly ambiguous and open to challenge, perhaps.
Who can promote gambling advertising?
Currently, according to the ASA, celebrities and sports stars are allowed to promote gambling, as long as they are over 25 – and clearly so. The only time that under 25s are allowed to appear in a gambling advertisement of any description is on the website of that operator (for example a casino, or sports betting site). Even then, the person under the age of 25 must be the subject of the bet – for example a footballer who is being bet on. So, in essence, someone under 25 can appear on a betting website, but not promote one.
The Mason Mount case
However, sometimes this law isn’t as cut and dry as it sounds. In 2023, footballer Mason Mount featured in some Instagram advertisements for freebetsdotcom. The company was forced to remove the advertisement as Mason Mount was 24 years old, not 25.
The same thing happened to Paddy Power for their advertisement featuring Luis Suarez, when he was 24. Despite claiming Suarez was the focus of the bet, they were still forced to remove the ad.
Government and regulatory inconsistency
For some, the above examples might seem a little unfair, after all, both footballers were less than a year from the 25-year-old cut off point. However, there’s a clear ‘no under 25s rule’ – and both bookies broke it. The rule is simple to understand, but the problem might not be that the rule isn’t clear, it might be that the rule is just wrong.
Child or adult?
When does a child become an adult? Young people can buy alcohol and cigarettes, vote, get married and buy a lottery ticket the day they hit 18. They can drive at 17 and even join the army at 16. The Labour government has even talked about reducing the voting age to 16. If young people are considered grown up enough to do all of these things at 16-18, why are they only allowed to see someone who looks over 25 in a gambling advert?
Discussion points
GambleAware does some outstanding work to prevent and address gambling related harm. They work with facts and data, as well as hands-on experiences. So, their work and their views should be taken seriously. What’s more, this data is persuasive. It shows high exposure, self-reported influence, especially among older boys. Plus, it clearly shows that the public (in particular young people themselves) want more regulation.
However, the under-25 rule seems slightly arbitrary. It even goes as far as to say that if someone looks under 25 it’s not appropriate. With so many top flight footballers looking, or indeed being under 25, it verges on restraint of trade. The football betting market is huge, many of the top players are being cut out of potentially lucrative deals because of their age. In directly limiting the commercial use of their image (during a usually very short career) we need to ask if that is fair.
Comparisons to immediately harmful substances like tobacco and alcohol are often made. While problem gambling is undoubtedly harmful, the risk profile is entirely different. Gambling related harm is less direct and less immediately health related. For me, the risks aren’t absolutely comparable, yet there are calls for restrictions to be similar.
Counter argument #2
No normal person wants to see children exposed to things that are potentially damaging – short, medium or long-term. That’s why there are such strict limits on advertising gambling products and services, tobacco products and alcohol.
However, considering the levels of violence, misogyny and extreme views and content that young people can access – particularly online – are we, as a society, being hypocritical? Are we applying equal safeguards around potentially damaging content young people can access in the same way we demand safeguards around gambling content?
Previous research findings
This is a highly studied area and pretty much all research points to the fact that exposure to gambling advertising is high amongst young people. A study by Kitchin et al found that in Ireland, the main feeds through which children and young people receive gambling advertising are mobile social media. We also know that this is much harder to control than television advertising.
We know that advertising works – otherwise nobody would spend money on it! But, it seems that gambling advertising through celebrity/influencer culture has a particularly strong effect on young people. A study by Pitt et al found that young people found it easier to recall gambling adverts featuring celebrities and influencers, though these ads increased the trust, legitimacy and social acceptance of gambling, and lowered the perception of risks related to gambling.
And in other countries…
Spain: In 2021, Spain introduced restrictions which included completely banning celebrities in gambling adverts.
Australia: Though it is yet to come into force, there’s been a huge push in Australia to ban gambling advertising altogether.
Italy: In 2019, Italy introduced the ‘Dignity Decree’. This banned all forms of gambling advertising, including TV, radio, internet, and sports sponsorships. It remains one of the strictest approaches in Europe, but is currently under scrutiny as it may go against EU law.
Belgium: In 2023, Belgium banned gambling ads across TV, radio, newspapers, cinema, websites, social media, and posters. Sponsorship deals with sports clubs are also set to be phased out by 2028.
Netherlands: From July 2023, the Netherlands banned untargeted gambling ads (billboards, radio, TV) and severely restricted the use of role models, celebrities, and influencers.
Norway: Norway doesn’t allow private operators to advertise at all. State-owned Norsk Tipping runs gambling under strict controls, and ads are tightly limited in tone and placement.
Japan: Japan banned gambling advertising just recently (25 September). Two Japanese nationals managing an affiliate site are the first to be arrested since the law was passed. They are accused of receiving commission from ¥70m (around €400k) of cryptocurrency wagered at an offshore online casino over 4 years.
Final words
Many countries in Europe have pushed for an outright ban – or close to it. However, reports from the UK Gambling Commission itself show that just 1.5% of young people could be identified as ‘at risk’ gamblers. This number is low, but is it low enough? And will banning gambling advertising lower it?
That same report showed that the three most common forms of gambling that young people took part in were:
- Arcade game machines
- Placing a bet between friends and family
- Playing cards with friends and family
Notably, none of those options involve Mason Mount or Luis Suarez.