Gambling operators’ social media image creation in Finland and Sweden 2017–2020

Abstract

Aim: This is a first audit of how gambling operators in Finland and Sweden address citizens on social media. The study is able to pinpoint some differences between how gambling operators utilise social media in a state monopoly system (Finland) and in a license-based regulatory framework (Sweden). Methods: Curated social media posts from Finland- and Sweden-based accounts in national languages were collected from March 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The data ( N = 13,241) consist of posts published on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The posts were audited in terms of frequency of posting, content and user engagement. Results/Conclusions: Operators in both countries were, in general, active on their social media accounts, but there was a decline in number of posts between 2017 and 2020. A substantial number of the analysed posts did not visually portray gambling or games. In the Swedish license system, operators seem to present themselves more straightforwardly as gambling companies, whereas in the Finnish monopoly system the image was more tied to a social role of public good doing. Beneficiaries of gambling revenues became less visible in the Finnish data over time.

Being good while being bad: How does CSR-communication on the social media serve the gambling industry?

“…This type of public CSRC aims to integrate businesses into the social role of respectable social actors and benefactors, and to establish fan communities, signalling honesty and transparency (Caluzzi et al, 2022; Sandoval, 2014; Veldung et al, 2022). Our focus differs also from previous research on gambling companies’ use of social media, which has thus far mostly focused on exposing how they use the platforms for marketing and normalising their products (Lindeman et al, accepted/in press; Gainsbury et al, 2015b).…”

The importance of debunking constructions

“…However, it hardly comes as a surprise that constructions may contain distorted or harmful views from a societal perspective. In their contribution, Lindeman and colleagues (2023) inquire into the ways in which alcohol, food and gambling operators address the public on social media. Their analysis of a substantial data set (N = 13,241) of posts published by Finnish and Swedish operators on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram between 2017 and 2020 shows that most of the posts do not thematically or in any obvious way relate to gambling or games.…”