Social media gambling ads appeal more to children

GAMBLING advertising on social media is significantly more appealing to children and young people than to adults, research by West experts suggests.

Disguised gambling marketing and adverts for betting on esports are especially alluring as they trigger positive emotions in under 25-year-olds, a University of Bristol study found.

A poll, of more than 650 children, young people and adults across the UK, suggests the vast majority of adults were wary or annoyed when faced with gambling adverts, but children mainly reacted positively.

The report calls for tighter regulations for gambling content marketing, as well as a ban on esports gambling advertising, to prevent youngsters from becoming addicted to gambling.

It adds that social media platforms should only allow gambling adverts on social media when users actively opt-in to receive them. An online survey of 210 children aged 11 to 17 years, 222 young people aged 18 to 24, and 221 adults aged 25 to 78 years in the UK was carried out between May and July in 2020 as part of the study.

The survey suggests that nearly half (45%) of children and nearly three in four (72%) of young people saw gambling advertising on Twitter at least once a week – and a quarter of children (25%) and 37% of young people said they were exposed to gambling adverts on social media every day. All 653 participants were exposed to 24 different Twitter gambling adverts during the study to investigate different emotional responses.

The vast majority of gambling adverts on Twitter (19 out of 24) were more appealing to children and young people than adults, the report found.

Nearly two in three (15 out of 24) gambling adverts prompted positive emotions such as happiness, calmness or delight in both children and young people, whereas less than a third (seven out of 24) triggered a positive emotional response among older adults, according to the findings.

The Government completed a review of the 2005 Gambling Act earlier this year. A white paper is due to be published in early 2022 next year.