A quarter of children polled say they see gambling ads on social media every day, survey finds
October 2021 - Sport, Leisure and Tourism
A quarter of children polled say they see gambling ads on social media every day: A survey of children, young people and adults has found that a quarter (25%) of children and 27% of young people report seeing gambling adverts every day when accessing social media. It also found that 45% of children and 72% of young adults report seeing gambling advertising on Twitter at least once every week.
The survey by Bristol University polled over 650 people, including 210 children aged 11-17 years, 222 young people (18-24 years) and 221 adults (25 - 78 years).
It revealed that whilst the majority of adults felt irritated or wary of adverts promoting gambling, children, overall, reacted in a positive manner.
The survey was conducted between May and July 2021 and exposed respondents to a range of gambling adverts on Twitter to record their emotional response. It found that 19 adverts out of 24 were most appealing to children, with 15 inspiring a positive emotional response (happiness, calmness or delight). When adults were shown the same adverts, just seven inspired the same response, in fact, adults were revealed to be four times more likely to reach negatively to the adverts, reporting feelings of anger and distress.
Esports advertisements were found to be more popular and appealing to the children polled than the young people and adults, according to the research.
Dr Raffaello Rossi, a marketing lecturer at the University of Bristol and the research’s co-lead investigator, said of the findings: "The overwhelming strong appeal of gambling advertising on social media to children is of huge concern, as it is known the earlier people start gambling the more likely it will become habitual and problematic.
"Many of the adverts may look entirely innocent and harmless, but they in fact pose a serious risk of getting a whole new generation of gamblers hooked on a serious addiction which has devastating consequences."
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