What do children observe and learn from televised sports betting advertisements? A qualitative study among Australian children

Abstract

Objective: To explore children's awareness of sports betting advertising and how this advertising may influence children's attitudes, product knowledge and desire to try sports betting.Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 48 children (8-16 years) from Melbourne, Victoria. The interview schedule explored children's recall and interpretations of sports betting advertising, strategies within advertisements that may appeal to children, children's product knowledge and understanding of betting terminology, and factors that may encourage gambling. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis was conducted.Results: Children recalled in detail sports betting advertisements that they had seen, with humour the most engaging appeal strategy. They were also able to describe other specific appeal strategies and link these strategies to betting brands. Many children described how advertisements demonstrated how someone would place a bet, with some children recalling the detailed technical language associated with betting. Conclusions:Children had detailed recall of sports betting advertisements and an extensive knowledge of sports betting products and terminology. Implications for public health:To protect children from the potential harms associated with sports betting, governments should consider changing regulations and implementing evidence-based education campaigns to counter the positive messages children receive from the sports betting industry.

Gambling Marketing from 2014 to 2018: a Literature Review

“…Gambling Marketing Perceptions Perceptions of gambling marketing seem, overall, quite negative and are often worse for active gamblers than for the general population [33,36,40]. Children also report being influenced by gambling marketing, such as financial incentives to gamble and odds advertising [14,20,41], for instance misperceiving marketing about financial incentives to mean that gamblers could never lose [42,43]. However, there are also limitations inherent to any type of self-report data.…”

“…Young people appear particularly susceptible to financial incentives [14,20,41]. Some children incorrectly thought that these financial incentives meant gamblers could never lose [42]. Moreover, some children misunderstood odds advertising, seeing these messages as merely providing relevant information, while misunderstanding the persuasive aspect of these adverts [43].…”

A Literature Review and Gap Analysis of Emerging Technologies and New Trends in Gambling

“…There is growing concern in the literature regarding the effect of sports betting advertising, with 11 studies focused on this aspect. In a series of studies by Pitt and colleagues, the authors discuss sports betting advertisements and other socialisation factors affecting children's gambling attitudes, behaviours and consumption intentions [52][53][54]. Deans et al [55] analysed the content of Australian advertisements and identified similarities between sports betting advertising and advertising for other unhealthy commodities.…”

Exploring children's experiences in community gambling venues: A qualitative study with children aged 6‐16 in regional New South Wales

“…Research has demonstrated that children are regularly exposed to gambling products and the marketing for these products within everyday community settings . While research has predominantly focused on children's exposure to promotions for sports betting products, environmental cues, marketing messages and perceptions of adults’ engagement with these products can also have a significant impact on positively shaping young people's gambling attitudes and future consumption intentions .…”

“…14 Research has demonstrated that children are regularly exposed to gambling products and the marketing for these products within everyday community settings. [15][16][17] While research has predominantly focused on children's exposure to promotions for sports betting products, 15,17,18 environmental cues, marketing messages and perceptions of adults' engagement with these products can also have a significant impact on positively shaping young people's gambling attitudes and future consumption intentions. 19 While some community gambling venues specifically provide a range of non-gambling activities specifically for children (eg, playgrounds), 7 there is much less understanding about how non-gambling and gambling cues may influence children's attitudes within these venues.…”