More than one-in-six advertisements shown during AFL matches are gambling-related, according to the ABC. Australia is a lucrative market for the sport gambling industry – we have the biggest losses per capita of any country in the world. In recent years there has been a noticeable and concerning increase in the advertising of gambling opportunities within sport. Gambling sponsorship of sport has grown substantially, and sports betting turnover is growing rapidly. Key players like Centrebet, Sportsbet, and Bet365 are competing for market share and advertising has been their number one weapon. So, what’s wrong with these gambling agencies advertising their product everywhere? After all, gambling is legal, advertising is legal, adults can make
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Gambling addictions are becoming more and more commonplace, and increases in problem gambling linked to sports betting have been reported in recent years, particularly among young men. The numbers of 18-to-25-year-old men with problems related to sports betting doubled between 2012 and 2015 at the University of Sydney’s Gambling Treatment Clinic. Gambling odds and prices have become a central part of sporting culture, with the “gamblification” of sport is now seen as both a normal and central component of it. In pre-game reporting, the prices and odds are seen as being as important as player injuries and weather conditions. In a survey with 544 Australian sports bettors with varying degrees of problem gambling, indicated that compared to non-problem and at-risk gamblers, problem gamblers reported most encouragement and influence to gamble from promotional advertising. Being able to draw a clear line between increased promotion of gambling and rates of problem gambling is not easy, given there are always multiple factors as to why someone develops a gambling problem. However, evidence exists to suggest advertising has impacts on problem gamblers. Interview research and large-scale survey work have both suggested that gambling advertisements during sport strongly affect many problem gamblers by increasing …show more content…
The lure of the flashing lights, emboldening sportsmen, and the possibility of winning money, can be irresistible to adolescents, and also the start of a life-long gambling habit. This was indeed the case for Michael, a former sports bettor addict. Michael went on to lose $350,000 in the grip of a gambling addiction that lasted over countless years, that also saw him lose his wife, house and himself. When asking Michael what he believed was the rhizome of his problem, he specified that “the vulnerability of my youth, and exploitation of such by the industry, with little awareness of the true significances, was undoubtedly the tangible causation.” This saturation and misperception of advertising normalises gambling to adolescents to then on associate gambling as integral part of sports, with inconsequential consequences. Adolescents are aware of and can recall specific slogans and jingles and are made to feel as though they are being groomed to gamble. A study, led by Samantha Thomas, an associate professor of public health at Deakin University, found that three-quarters of children can recall the name of at least one sports betting brand, and one if four can name four or more brands. While some may argue that restrictions on sports betting and it’s advertising are paternalistic, and that the industry marketing for their products does not target children, children are nonetheless exposed to and influenced by the
Gambling addictions are becoming more and more commonplace, and increases in problem gambling linked to sports betting have been reported in recent years, particularly among young men. The numbers of 18-to-25-year-old men with problems related to sports betting doubled between 2012 and 2015 at the University of Sydney’s Gambling Treatment Clinic. Gambling odds and prices have become a central part of sporting culture, with the “gamblification” of sport is now seen as both a normal and central component of it. In pre-game reporting, the prices and odds are seen as being as important as player injuries and weather conditions. In a survey with 544 Australian sports bettors with varying degrees of problem gambling, indicated that compared to non-problem and at-risk gamblers, problem gamblers reported most encouragement and influence to gamble from promotional advertising. Being able to draw a clear line between increased promotion of gambling and rates of problem gambling is not easy, given there are always multiple factors as to why someone develops a gambling problem. However, evidence exists to suggest advertising has impacts on problem gamblers. Interview research and large-scale survey work have both suggested that gambling advertisements during sport strongly affect many problem gamblers by increasing …show more content…
The lure of the flashing lights, emboldening sportsmen, and the possibility of winning money, can be irresistible to adolescents, and also the start of a life-long gambling habit. This was indeed the case for Michael, a former sports bettor addict. Michael went on to lose $350,000 in the grip of a gambling addiction that lasted over countless years, that also saw him lose his wife, house and himself. When asking Michael what he believed was the rhizome of his problem, he specified that “the vulnerability of my youth, and exploitation of such by the industry, with little awareness of the true significances, was undoubtedly the tangible causation.” This saturation and misperception of advertising normalises gambling to adolescents to then on associate gambling as integral part of sports, with inconsequential consequences. Adolescents are aware of and can recall specific slogans and jingles and are made to feel as though they are being groomed to gamble. A study, led by Samantha Thomas, an associate professor of public health at Deakin University, found that three-quarters of children can recall the name of at least one sports betting brand, and one if four can name four or more brands. While some may argue that restrictions on sports betting and it’s advertising are paternalistic, and that the industry marketing for their products does not target children, children are nonetheless exposed to and influenced by the