tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/gambling-adverts-64037/articles
Gambling adverts – The Conversation
2024-03-25T01:28:21Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226315
2024-03-25T01:28:21Z
2024-03-25T01:28:21Z
Celebrities, influencers, loopholes: online gambling advertising faces an uncertain future in Australia
<p>Sports betting is most popular among <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-reports/gambling-activity-australia">Australian young people</a> than any other age group, and this trend has only increased over the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-024-10282-x">past 15 years</a>.</p>
<p>Young males, in particular, are the group most likely to participate in sports betting and face a higher risk of developing gambling issues. </p>
<p>Environmental factors, such as advertising, can make young people more likely to bet on sports. So regulation is essential if we want to prevent young people from gambling-related harm.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it</a>
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<h2>Advertising, promotions and marketing techniques</h2>
<p>Advertising serves <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/002224377601300110">two different purposes</a>. There is the advertising that companies use to set their products apart from their competitors (known as competitive advertising). There is also the advertising companies use to make people more interested in a product (known as primary demand advertising).</p>
<p>Sports betting companies use competitive advertising by promoting their products’ unique features, such as chat features and live match updates, or by offering promotions, such as bonus bets and deposit matches. This type of advertising is most likely to appeal to people who are already involved in sports betting. They are looking for more affordable ways to bet, ways to maximise their winnings, and better features. </p>
<p>Promotions are an effective way to make people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.99">bet more</a>. They may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01173-0">more likely</a> to influence people who gamble to risky levels. Because of this, Australia has taken steps to <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people-programs-services-gambling/gambling-reforms">ban some of these promotions</a>, including sign-up and refer-a-friend offers.</p>
<p>Sports betting companies use a variety of marketing strategies to generate interest in sports betting. For example, they often advertise during live sports broadcasts to generate interest in sports gambling. </p>
<p>This serves two purposes: it presents sports betting as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2017.1353082">normal part</a> of being a sports fan and aligns sports betting with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2021.1937274">positive values</a> people associate with sports, such as fairness, success and competence.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K4fa_ZT8m8g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Young males, in particular, are the group most likely to participate in sports betting.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The impact of celebrities and influencers</h2>
<p>Sports betting companies often feature <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daae012">celebrities and athletes</a> in their advertising. This can enhance the appeal of betting, as people transfer their favourable opinions of celebrities and athletes to sports betting. </p>
<p>However, companies can use social media influencers to do this much more effectively. This is because influencers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/jrim-08-2021-0200">engage more</a> with their followers and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1634898">appear more relatable</a> than more well-known celebrities.</p>
<p>Companies can use influencers in various ways to promote sports betting. One approach is to pay influencers to appear in advertising campaigns, known as <a href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/endorsement-in-advertising">influencer endorsements</a>. </p>
<p>Another approach is <a href="https://www.goodbadmarketing.com/aiza/sponsored-content-disclosure-australia/">sponsored content</a>, where a company pays an influencer to promote its brand or product in its own content. For example, an influencer might create a video about sports betting and mention they bet with a specific betting company.</p>
<p><a href="https://mailchimp.com/marketing-glossary/content-marketing/">Content advertising</a> has become increasingly popular in the digital age as people consume more content on a daily basis. </p>
<p>Companies use this strategy by creating content that appeals to their target audience without directly advertising their products. A sports betting company might create a website that shares sports-related news, which would appeal to their target audience of sports fans. This advertising strategy cultivates brand awareness and fosters customer loyalty.</p>
<p>In essence, sports betting advertising goes beyond what people see during commercial breaks. Like all advertising, it appears wherever content is generated and wherever a brand’s target audience is expected to engage with it.</p>
<h2>The complexities of a potential ban</h2>
<p>Last year’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Policy_and_Legal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report/Chapter_5_-_Gambling_advertising">parliamentary inquiry</a> into online gambling outlines recommendations for a gradual ban of online gambling advertising by 2026. Whether these recommendations are implemented remains to be seen, but it is important to recognise that advertising is now more complex and global than ever before. </p>
<p>How will this recommended ban account for influencer advertising, content advertising, or subtle references to odds on websites that provide scores and live updates of sports events?</p>
<p>How gambling advertising is defined will likely become a crucial issue. In 2018, Italy <a href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c8f3839f-5841-4c90-b768-35147f686ca0">banned</a> all direct advertising for gambling. To <a href="https://pagellapolitica.it/articoli/divieto-pubblicita-scommesse">circumvent this ban</a>, betting companies established websites solely focused on sharing sports-related news content using the same name as their betting brand. This allowed them to openly advertise their betting brand during live sporting events.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-strong-hand-to-tackle-gambling-harm-will-it-go-all-in-or-fold-208749">Australia has a strong hand to tackle gambling harm. Will it go all in or fold?</a>
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<h2>A holistic approach</h2>
<p>A complete ban on gambling advertising may soon be implemented in Australia, but it is crucial to consider what exactly defines gambling advertising.</p>
<p>It’s important to involve marketers in the process of implementing an advertising ban because they have the most up-to-date knowledge of current advertising trends; policymakers and researchers might not know about them until years later. </p>
<p>This is a critical step towards preventing sports betting companies from potentially exploiting regulatory loopholes. </p>
<p>A future advertising ban must consider advances in social media marketing strategies, all of which are especially significant for young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gianluca Di Censo receives funding from the Office of Responsible Gambling. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Delfabbro receives funding from state and federal government agencies for research.</span></em></p>
A 2023 federal government inquiry recommended a ban on gambling advertising. What needs to happen should a ban be implemented?
Gianluca Di Censo, PhD Candidate, University of Adelaide
Paul Delfabbro, Professor, School of Psychology, University of Adelaide
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/205843
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
2023-05-19T02:54:21Z
Sport is being used to normalise gambling. We should treat the problem just like smoking
<p>Turn on the TV and you’re <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">four times more likely</a> to see a gambling ad during a sports broadcast than during other programming.</p>
<p>The number of gambling ads on TV has grown from <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">374 a day</a> in 2016 to <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media/948-gambling-ads-daily-on-victorian-free-to-air-tv-in-2021/">948 in 2021</a>. The Australian Football League and National Rubgy League have an “official wagering partner”, whose logo is displayed prominently. Individual clubs have sponsorship deals with gambling companies, displaying their logos on team jerseys.</p>
<p>It’s something Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agrees is “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/politicians-say-tv-gambling-ads-are-problematic-but-banning-them-will-do-little-experts-say/j4aapxz57">annoying</a>”, after Opposition leader Peter Dutton <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/13/peter-dutton-cranks-up-pressure-on-labor-to-further-restrict-gambling-ads#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CI%20announce%20that%20a%20Coalition,to%20get%20it%20implemented%20now.%E2%80%9D">proposed a ban</a> on gambling ads an hour before and after sports matches. </p>
<p>At present, <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/gambling-ads-during-live-sport-broadcast-tv-and-radio">a voluntary code governs</a> when these <a href="https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf">ads can be shown</a>. Generally this means they are not allowed until after 8:30pm. But as any parent will tell you, this won’t stop <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">sports-mad kids</a> seeing them. </p>
<p>Children are regularly, and heavily, exposed to these ads. Parents are alarmed at the changing way their children view sport. It’s not just about the game, or the players, or the teams any more. Now children recite <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/child-and-parent-recall-of-gambling-sponsorship-in-australian-sport-67/">bookmaker brands</a> and the odds as they discuss the weekend’s sport.</p>
<h2>Normalising harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>As with cigarette marketing in decades past, sports sponsorship and advertising has been the primary mechanism for the aggressive “normalisation” of gambling. It presents betting on your team (especially with your mates) as the mark of a dedicated supporter.</p>
<p>Associating a product with a popular pastime, and with sporting or other heroes, is a clear tactic of harmful commodity industries from tobacco, to alcohol, fast food, and gambling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/study-shows-betting-ads-influencing-childrens-attitudes-to-gambling">Alarming evidence</a> is emerging that shows how young people are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/27/children-more-likely-to-become-gamblers-due-to-high-volume-of-betting-ads">influenced by this marketing</a>. This includes evidence that <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/2302-overview_gambling-participation-harm-views.pdf">young people’s exposure to gambling ads</a> is linked to gambling activity as adults.</p>
<p>Gambling ads are effective in persuading people to make specific bets, and to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/sports-betting-online-group-chats-young-people-gambling-research/101945456">encourage their friends</a> to sign up.</p>
<p>Young men are particularly susceptible. More than 70% of <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">male punters aged 18 to 35</a> are at risk of harm, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. </p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in past 12 months." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526973/original/file-20230518-29-bqho0n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=319&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Proportion of Australian adults who gambled and were classified as being at risk of gambling harm in the past 12 months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://aifs.gov.au/research/research-snapshots/gambling-participation-and-experience-harm-australia">AIFS</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>What other countries are doing</h2>
<p>These concerns have now lead to multiple countries prohibiting gambling ads altogether. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sportcal.com/betting/sports-betting-advertising-restrictions-planned-in-netherlands/">The Netherlands</a> will ban all TV, radio, print and billboard gambling ads from July, with strict conditions on online advertising. A ban on club sponsorship will come into effect in 2025. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belgium-bans-gambling-advertising-july-1-2023-03-09/">Belgium</a> is going further, ban gambling ads online as well from July. It will ban advertising in stadiums from 2025, and sponsoring of sports clubs in 2028.</p>
<p><a href="https://euroweeklynews.com/2021/08/31/spain-ban-gambling-advertising/">Spain</a> imposed a blanket ban on gambling advertising in 2021, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-act-review-how-eu-countries-are-tightening-restrictions-on-ads-and-why-the-uk-should-too-199354">Italy</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>In the UK, the Premier League last month agreed to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/13/premier-league-clubs-ban-gambling-sponsors-on-front-of-shirts-from-2026-27">ban bookies’ logos</a> from player match shirts, though critics argue this barely addresses <a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">the scale of the problem</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/premier-leagues-front-of-shirt-gambling-ad-ban-is-a-flawed-approach-australia-should-learn-from-it-204105">Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it</a>
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<h2>How to denormalise harmful behaviour</h2>
<p>“Denormalisation” was a key strategy of <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-5-uptake/5-24-denormalising-smoking">tobacco control efforts</a> in Australia. These are now seen as a massive public health success, with smoking and associated disease rates dropping dramatically. </p>
<p>There are at least two aspects to denormalising harmful products. </p>
<p>The first is to reduce the avenues through which the product can be promoted. With <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-control-toc%7Etimeline#:%7E:text=1976%20%2D%20bans%20on%20all%20cigarette,increase%20in%20the%20tobacco%20excise.">tobacco</a> this includes even regulating the packaging. For gambling, getting rid of all forms of gambling promotion during sporting events is the obvious first step.</p>
<p>It’s also important to have counter-marketing. When Victoria banned tobacco sponsorship in 1987, it established the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-history#:%7E:text=We%20were%20established%20by%20the,of%20sport%20and%20the%20arts.">Victorian Health Promotion Foundation </a>, funded by tobacco taxes, initially to support teams that had lost sponsorship. </p>
<p>If gambling ads were banned, it would be logical to replace at least some of the bookies’ ads with messaging that helps people avoid a gambling habit, or get help if they already have an issue.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>If the current <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/onlinegambling">parliamentary inquiry into online gambling</a> makes recommendations in line with submissions from concerned citizens and non-government organisations, we can expect an extension of current restrictions. This should include banning ads in line with Peter Dutton’s suggestions.</p>
<p>It would also make sense to go further than just more restrictions on broadcast ads, to include online and social media promotion. </p>
<p>Even though gambling companies spend most of their marketing dollars on television, use of <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/the-receptivity-of-young-people-to-gambling-marketing-strategies-on-social-media-platforms-1155/">social media</a> is increasing, with alcohol and gambling ads that deliberately <a href="https://fare.org.au/facebook-and-instagram-are-bombarding-young-people-with-targeted-alcohol-gambling-and-unhealthy-food-ads/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CWe%20observed%20that%20alcohol%2C%20unhealthy,points%20collected%20about%20each%20child.%E2%80%9D">target young people</a>. This is despite platforms like Facebook saying it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/345214789920228?id=434838534925385">doesn’t allow targeting</a> for online gambling and gaming ads to people under the age of 18.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-odds-youll-gamble-on-the-grand-final-are-high-when-punting-is-woven-into-our-very-social-fabric-124157">The odds you’ll gamble on the Grand Final are high when punting is woven into our very social fabric</a>
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<p>A program of successive marketing restrictions, moving towards total prohibition, can give the broadcast industry, and the sporting codes, time to line up new sponsors. </p>
<p>There is a need for national uniformity, with a national regulator to replace current clunky arrangements. And only the federal government has any hope of making social media adhere to regulation. </p>
<p>We gained enormous benefits from removing tobacco advertising from our TV screens and billboards. We have the opportunity to protect a new generation from further serious, avoidable gambling harm. </p>
<p>No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads.</p>
<p>Providing a clear timeline for the end of gambling ads will give our professional sports organisations the incentive they need to find an ethical solution that avoids entrapping a new generation in gambling harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205843/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Lancet Public Health Commission into gambling, and of the World Health Organisation expert group on gambling and gambling harm.</span></em></p>
No one can say Australian sport is worse off without tobacco ads. We can protect a new generation of young sports fans from harm by following other nations’ lead – and phasing out gambling ads.
Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204105
2023-04-28T05:40:50Z
2023-04-28T05:40:50Z
Premier League’s front-of-shirt gambling ad ban is a flawed approach. Australia should learn from it
<p>“Excellent decision.”</p>
<p>This was the reaction from English football great Gary Lineker to the <a href="https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/1646469550106345472?s=20">announcement that the English Premier League</a> has agreed to voluntarily “withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of their matchday shirts”. </p>
<p>The league announced its decision after an “extensive consultation” with the UK government about its review of gambling legislation. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1646471488688599040"}"></div></p>
<p>This decision was held up by the government as a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age/high-stakes-gambling-reform-for-the-digital-age">key strategy</a> to reduce children’s incidental exposure to gambling logos while watching football, in the UK’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/gambling-reform-in-the-digital-age">gambling white paper</a> released Thursday.</p>
<p>The white paper also identified the front-of-shirt ban as part of an effort to move towards “socially responsible” sports sponsorship. </p>
<p>Some UK campaigners cautiously welcomed the decision, saying it was an important admission from the Premier League that <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1646783724405530628?s=20">gambling advertising is harmful</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, some gambling reform groups said the measure was <a href="https://twitter.com/ReformGambling/status/1646770316545343488?s=20">great news</a>, and that Australian sporting codes should do the same.</p>
<p>However, in the following days, extensive criticism of the deal emerged. <a href="https://twitter.com/felly500/status/1646869806547718147?s=20">Public health experts</a> and other stakeholders argued the measure was more about public relations than harm prevention. </p>
<p>Experts argued the ban would do little to tackle the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9c3713ab-4317-4205-96ce-1075ecc5f865?accessToken=zwAF-dLxW63YkdOcNxOrQxdCBdOWzhB17MX4ZQ.MEUCIFx5oi98ZhAh3FTD_BpyqM1tP72rNMeLJwnbD1kGhrbZAiEA2RJOC47Nt7PmRTa3Fn39YPJ5JU94qGDsv2vsfHF87OU&sharetype=gift&token=000a957f-9f7e-432f-ad15-915115b38fb2">entrenched relationship between the gambling industry and sport</a>, and could even be a step backwards. </p>
<p>Many were concerned the measure deflected from the urgent need for comprehensive restrictions on gambling marketing – a measure widely supported to prevent the normalisation of gambling for children.</p>
<p>And the UK white paper did little to implement the comprehensive restrictions needed to <a href="http://www.adph.org.uk/2023/04/wpresponse/">reduce children’s daily exposure to gambling promotions</a>.</p>
<h2>A flawed approach</h2>
<p>At the heart of the criticisms were that the decision, as well as related measures, did very little to address the proliferation of gambling marketing in sport. </p>
<p>The agreement:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>only removes a small part of marketing on the front of matchday shirts. This leaves the door open for gambling branding to remain on other parts of the uniform, and on other kits</p></li>
<li><p>doesn’t address marketing or branding around sporting grounds</p></li>
<li><p>will not be implemented until the end of the 2025-26 season – hardly a sign of an urgent imperative to reduce the marketing of a harmful product</p></li>
<li><p>includes a promise to establish a “new code for responsible gambling sponsorship”</p></li>
<li><p>and seemingly <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/2/daac194/7080461">ignores the evidence</a> that voluntary codes serve primarily to <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p161.full">protect the interests of advertisers</a>, not the community.</p></li>
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<p>The flaws with the Premier League’s decision highlight the significant problems with allowing those with vested interests to make decisions about what they’re prepared to engage in (or not) to protect the health of the public. </p>
<p>History shows <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)62089-3/fulltext">these types of initiatives are rarely effective</a> in reducing marketing for these products, or in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(19)32540-1/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR2TJ3MJNaZuL9d4g2DWxu04mVxFGzJahxBR4BTHk332kdkZ_LfAdHETaJs">protecting children</a>. </p>
<p>Far from signalling progress, they serve to delay regulation that would protect public health. Voluntary measures and self-regulation are convenient for governments that don’t want to regulate a powerful industry. They form part of the narrative for government that “something is being done”.</p>
<h2>Vested interests</h2>
<p>In Australia, sporting organisations have a significant vested interest in making money from gambling products, sponsorships and promotions. Some, including the AFL, also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/04/afl-receives-cut-of-gambling-turnover-outside-sponsorship-inquiry-hears">receive a cut of gambling turnover on matches</a>. </p>
<p>Peak sporting bodies <a href="https://www.compps.com.au/index.html">claim</a> sport delivers “long-term social, health, community and economic benefits”. While this is clearly true in many cases, it’s inconsistent with the stance many Australian sporting codes have taken on gambling. This is especially so given the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/gambling-victoria/gambling-harm-victoria/types-harm-gambling/">irrefutable links</a> between gambling and some of Australia’s most pressing health and social problems, including homelessness, family violence, criminality and mental health issues.</p>
<p>Instead of taking a strong stand to restrict gambling marketing, some sporting codes have continued to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hpja.721">normalise the promotion of gambling products</a>. We saw this all too clearly in the recent <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0004;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0000%22">testimonies of the chief executives of the AFL and NRL</a> to the current Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Gambling. </p>
<p>The AFL and NRL chiefs, Gillon McLachlan and Andrew Abdo, did acknowledge concerns about gambling marketing, and said responsibility to the community was taken “seriously”. But both spoke repeatedly about the need for regulatory “balance” in relation to gambling. </p>
<p>McLachlan added: “I don’t believe that brand advertising per se is too much.”</p>
<p>But our research tells a different story. </p>
<h2>Normalising gambling for kids</h2>
<p>Children as young as eight have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/2/daac194/7080461">awareness and recall of gambling brands and promotions</a>. They can name multiple gambling brands, describe the advertising in detail, and even tell us what colours certain gambling companies are. Young people tell us that much of this awareness comes from seeing gambling marketing in sport. </p>
<p>The gambling industry is also becoming more creative in linking gambling with sport. This includes promotions on <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">platforms such as TikTok</a>. Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans justified these promotions by <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=COMMITTEES;id=committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0005;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommrep%2F26412%2F0000%22">telling</a> the parliamentary inquiry “we only work with partners such as TikTok who have reliable and robust age-gating technology”. </p>
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<h2>Learning from tobacco control</h2>
<p>Government action is clearly the most effective intervention in curbing marketing for harmful products. That’s why governments took decisions about advertising and sponsorship away from the tobacco industry. </p>
<p>Sporting organisations also resisted restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship (with many of the same arguments now used in defence of gambling promotions).</p>
<p>But history shows us that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-push-to-end-tobacco-advertising-in-the-1970s-could-be-used-to-curb-gambling-ads-today-200915">legislated bans</a> on tobacco advertising through sport made a huge difference to <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-11-advertising/11-1-the-merits-of-banning-tobacco-advertising">preventing young people from being exposed</a>.</p>
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<img alt="VicHealth anti-smoking campaign poster." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523379/original/file-20230428-22-27pgvp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Strong action was taken by governments on tobacco sponsorship in sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/VicHealth-30th-anniversary.pdf">© Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth)</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-needs-tobacco-like-regulation-in-sports-advertising-and-sponsorship-123106">Gambling needs tobacco-like regulation in sports advertising and sponsorship</a>
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<h2>An opportunity for change</h2>
<p>The Australian parliamentary inquiry into online gambling is looking at how to best respond to gambling marketing. It’s important we don’t follow the ineffective voluntary approach to marketing restrictions that the UK is taking. </p>
<p>As public pressure for action grows, we’re likely to see vested interests offering further minor concessions that have little impact on their advertising or their capacity to target young people.</p>
<p>We need strong action by governments, not small steps that <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-018-0254-6">lead nowhere</a>. Gambling and sporting bodies should play no part in decisions about keeping young people and the community safe from this predatory industry.</p>
<p>And their predatory ads should be removed completely from the sporting arena, not just the front of matchday shirts in the English Premier League.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204105/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Thomas has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, Healthway, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the NSW Office for Gambing. She is currently the Editor in Chief of Health Promotion International, an Oxford University Press Journal. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Hannah Pitt has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the NSW Office for Responsible Gambling, VicHealth and Deakin University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Simone McCarthy has been employed on research projects that are funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.</span></em></p>
It’s important Australia doesn’t follow the ineffective voluntary approach to gambling marketing that the UK is taking.
Samantha Thomas, Professor of Public Health, Deakin University
Hannah Pitt, VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Simone McCarthy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200915
2023-03-05T19:20:16Z
2023-03-05T19:20:16Z
How the push to end tobacco advertising in the 1970s could be used to curb gambling ads today
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513337/original/file-20230303-22-gxmkp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Smith/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you think you are seeing a lot more gambling ads on television and online platforms, you are not imagining it. They are so common that <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/high-profile-players-refuse-to-play-ball-on-afl-betting-ads-20230228-p5cobo.html">high-profile AFL players have refused</a> to participate in sponsored gambling. </p>
<p>Online gambling companies are ploughing huge amounts of money into advertising, and for good reason. The ads work. While fewer people are gambling overall, online gambling is a booming industry.</p>
<p>There are uncanny parallels between the public health challenges posed by gambling advertising today and tobacco advertising 50 years ago. In 1970, a tobacco ad ran on Australian television every eight to 14 minutes. These ads portrayed smoking as cool and adult, and often relied on celebrity endorsements. They worked, driving a new generation of youth into smoking amid predictions of a dramatic increase in the future cancer burden.</p>
<p>Like the tobacco industry in earlier decades, online gambling advertising targets young people. Advertisements that use laconic, blokey humour and carefully selected celebrities like former American basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal and American actor Mark Wahlberg are skilfully designed to appeal to 18-to-24-year-old men. <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">Young women also represent a growing customer base</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513338/original/file-20230303-18-7b1r25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Most Australian children aged eight to 16 think gambling is a normal part of sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Worryingly, <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">research</a> has shown children as young as 11 are susceptible to the marketing and sales tactics of betting agencies, and that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1753-6405.12564">75% of 8-to-16-year-olds</a> think gambling is just a normal or common part of sport.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">As Netball Australia eyes betting sponsorship, women and girls are at increased risk of gambling harm</a>
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<p>As with Commonwealth governments in the 1960s when faced with tobacco advertising, today’s politicians have tinkered around the edges of gambling advertising reform, but shied away from decisive action. </p>
<p>In 2018, the Turnbull government <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-06/gambling-ads-during-live-sporting-events-to-be-banned/8502524">banned</a> gambling ads before 8.30pm on live sports events. But gambling companies <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">easily circumvent</a> these laws. They simply flood the half-time break and post-match coverage with ads. <a href="https://www.acma.gov.au/articles/2022-10/seven-and-nine-breach-gambling-advertising-rules">They have even breached the law</a>. </p>
<p>Streaming services remain completely unregulated, and ads are ubiquitous on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.</p>
<p>Gambling companies, like tobacco companies before them, proclaim their own efforts at self-regulation by providing embedded warnings that champion “<a href="https://helpcentre.sportsbet.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115004973288-Responsible-Gambling">responsible gambling</a>”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-netball-australia-eyes-betting-sponsorship-women-and-girls-are-at-increased-risk-of-gambling-harm-185407">As Netball Australia eyes betting sponsorship, women and girls are at increased risk of gambling harm</a>
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<p>Yet phrases used in their ads, such as “bet responsibly, no matter who you bet with”, have no demonstrable effect on dangerous gambling behaviours. Punters simply ignore warnings against excessive or problem gambling. They <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35413823/">buy into</a> the responsible gambling trope and believe they have control.</p>
<p>As with the link between smoking and lung cancer, the harms associated with gambling are well established. Apart from the massive financial losses – an estimated <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people-programs-services/gambling">$25 billion</a> in 2018-19 – there are cascading physical and mental health impacts. These include suicide, incapacity to work or study, damage to close relationships and, in some cases, a resort to criminal behaviour.</p>
<p>In 1970, a large majority of the Australian public (74%) disliked cigarette ads and wanted them banned. The figure is similar for gambling advertising today. In a 2022 survey, <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Polling-Advertising-on-TV-Web-1.pdf">71%</a> agreed these ads should be banned.</p>
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<p>In the face of such a compelling case for action, why won’t governments act? Back in the 1970s, the tobacco industry and the television and radio stations on which they advertised (to the tune of $125 million a year in today’s money) were powerful lobby groups that reached into the heart of government. </p>
<p>While health experts and organisations like the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria (now Cancer Council of Victoria) advocated for reform, tobacco growers, cigarette companies, the media and those politicians beholden to these interests pushed back.</p>
<p>In a familiar pattern, the online gambling industry <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dark-money-and-gambling-companies-flood-political-donations-20230210-p5cjgs.html">exerts its influence increasingly</a> in the political arena. Sportsbet, for example, donated <a href="https://transparency.aec.gov.au/AnnualDonor/ReturnDetail?returnId=65646">$313,424 to political parties in 2022</a>, spreading its contributions between the Coalition and the ALP. </p>
<p>It <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/michelle-rowland-s-8960-rockpool-election-eve-fundraising-dinner-paid-for-by-sportsbet-20230206-p5ci49.html">donated $19,000 in 2022</a> to the election campaign of the now Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, whose portfolio includes advertising regulation. Given that gambling companies provide a <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/gambling-victoria/gambling-advertising/">significant and expanding source of revenue</a> for both conventional and new media companies, they form a powerful coalition of self-interest.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tv-to-tiktok-young-people-are-exposed-to-gambling-promotions-everywhere-200067">From TV to TikTok, young people are exposed to gambling promotions everywhere</a>
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<p>So, how did the anti-tobacco lobby burst through a similar impasse 50 years ago? And can we transfer these lessons to the present?</p>
<p>The Victorian Anti-Cancer Council, then led by Dr Nigel Gray, and other cancer control bodies led a sustained program of non-partisan, evidence-based advocacy to government about the health effects of smoking, and the links between advertising and youth smoking uptake.</p>
<p>But the act that finally embarrassed the government into action was a series of 26 anti-tobacco ads starring celebrity actors Warren Mitchell and Miriam Karlin from the UK and Australian Fred Parslow. Conceived by Gray, his director of public education, David Hill, and advertising creative John Bevins, the ads lampooned tobacco advertising with satire. </p>
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<p>For instance, they contrasted the illusion of the international jet-setting lifestyle portrayed in the adverts with the realities of lung cancer and repulsive coughing. An important feature of the campaign was the inclusion of one “straight” educational advertisement on the dangers of smoking and the effect of tobacco ads on youth by the first Australian of the Year, esteemed Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Frank McFarlane Burnet.</p>
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<p>The television channels played into Gray’s plan by refusing to air the Anti-Cancer Council ads. The print media picked up the story of Burnet being denied a chance to speak to the public. The Coalition government was criticised for failing to intervene despite public support for limiting or banning tobacco advertising, and the evidence from <a href="http://directory.umm.ac.id/Journals/Journal%2520of%2520Health%2520Economics/Vol19.Issue6.Dec2001/683.pdf">Denmark, the US and the UK</a>, presented by Gray, showing that banning tobacco advertising reduced youth smoking. </p>
<p>Embarrassed, the government forced the TV stations to air the anti-tobacco ads in July 1971, creating even more media scrutiny. The public attention brought by this debacle finally pressured the McMahon government into introducing some limits on tobacco advertising.</p>
<p>When Gough Whitlam won the 1972 election, Labor legislated a phased ban on tobacco advertising. Despite internal debate within the Liberal Party, the subsequent Fraser government maintained it and implemented a total ban on tobacco advertising on television and radio by 1977 — a major win for tobacco control and public health.</p>
<p>The media environment has clearly changed markedly since the 1970s. But the success of the highly creative 1971 anti-tobacco campaign offers some inspiration for taking on gambling, which is among the major public health issues of our time. </p>
<p>Gray recognised that merely providing honest information about smoking was not enough. The tobacco control effort had to galvanise public dissatisfaction and motivate media action through evidence-driven, high-profile advocacy. A similar approach could be a way of forcing government to take action against the powerful interest groups supporting pervasive gambling advertising today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200915/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Holbrook receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This research was supported by Australian Research Council Linkage grant LP210100204, 'Cancer Culture: Understanding Anti-Cancer Campaigns in Australia'. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Kehoe receives funding from the Australian Research Council. This research was supported by Australian Research Council Linkage grant LP210100204, 'Cancer Culture: Understanding Anti-Cancer Campaigns in Australia'. He is affiliated with Cancer Council Victoria. </span></em></p>
In the 1970s, the Anti-Cancer Council launched a concerted, evidence-based public health campaign to end tobacco advertising – and many of their strategies could be used today on gambling advertising.
Carolyn Holbrook, Senior Lecturer in History, Deakin University
Thomas Kehoe, Historian, Cancer Council Victoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199354
2023-02-14T21:54:27Z
2023-02-14T21:54:27Z
Gambling Act review: how EU countries are tightening restrictions on ads and why the UK should too
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508437/original/file-20230206-13-ysb1s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C13%2C940%2C622&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The UK is currently review its gambling regulations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marko Aliaksandr/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the 2005 Gambling Act was drafted the world was very different. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube didn’t exist. Gambling was often seen as a shady activity typically conducted in smoky high-street betting shops. You certainly couldn’t use a smartphone to gamble 24/7 with a couple of clicks.</p>
<p>Aware of these changes, in 2019 the UK government announced a review to ensure that the Gambling Act was “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence">fit for the digital age</a>”. The government recently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people-html">called the review a priority</a> but has not announced a new date for its publication <a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/football-news/wife-nottingham-forest-legend-slams-8130442">after announcing a delay in July 2022</a>.</p>
<p>As the government contemplates how to regulate this industry, new rules are needed to cover, not just sports betting, but the rise of online casinos, poker matches and virtual slot machines in the internet age.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/esports-could-be-quietly-spawning-a-whole-new-generation-of-problem-gamblers-147124">Esports could be quietly spawning a whole new generation of problem gamblers</a>
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<p>In particular, reform of gambling advertising is sorely needed. It has morphed out of all recognition in the last 18 years. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jun/05/gambling-logos-feature-700-times-in-football-match-says-ch4-documentary">Gambling logos</a> can be seen 700 times during major football matches on TV, while the social media accounts of big betting companies post <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0743915621999674">over 28,000 ads per year</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that gambling ads on Twitter are <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/management/documents/what-are-the-odds-rossi-nairn-2021.pdf">particularly appealing to children and young people</a>. So it is perhaps no surprise that as many as 30,000 young people aged 11 to 16 may suffer from <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/young-people-and-gambling-2022">harmful gambling habits</a>. Gambling harms include financial, emotional and social difficulties.</p>
<p>Another recent study indicated a link between exposure to gambling ads <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350622003420">and suffering from such harms</a> for all age groups. This is particularly worrying since there are already <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gambling-related-harms-evidence-review/gambling-related-harms-evidence-review-summary--2">400 gambling-related suicides every year</a> in the UK.</p>
<p>But the UK is actually at the global forefront of gambling <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40429-022-00457-0">advertising deregulation</a>, while other European countries have been tightening these rules. From changes announced in Italy four years ago to more recent reforms in Germany, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands over the last few months, the UK could learn a lot from these regulatory approaches.</p>
<h2>Italy: a complete ban on all gambling advertising</h2>
<p>At the start of 2019, Italy banned almost all gambling marketing. The Decreto Dignità (Dignity Decree) prohibited all TV, radio, press and internet gambling marketing. This blanket ban was brought in shortly after a study highlighted that 3% of the Italian population was <a href="https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/minerva-forensic-medicine/article.php?cod=R11Y2021N02A0029&acquista=1">suffering from gambling harms</a>. </p>
<p>The gambling industry said <a href="https://www.gamblinginsider.com/magazine/114/did-the-industry-cry-wolf-over-italy">such a ban would be ineffective</a> at addressing betting in settings such as shops or casinos. And that it would encourage customers to use illegal gambling sites such as unregulated online casinos. </p>
<p>It also complained that industry revenue dropped <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1063911/players-losses-of-money-in-the-gambling-market-in-italy/">from €19 billion in 2018 to €15 billion in 2021</a>. But since gambling revenue remained consistent until February 2020, it is <a href="https://www.gamblinginsider.com/magazine/114/did-the-industry-cry-wolf-over-italy">generally accepted</a> that this drop resulted from the COVID lockdowns, when sports events came to an almost total halt.</p>
<p><strong>Different approaches to gambling regulation</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509137/original/file-20230209-26-79fih.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Produced by the authors.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany: one step at a time</h2>
<p>Other EU countries have taken a more piecemeal approach to recent reforms than Italy.</p>
<p>In 2018 Belgium <a href="https://www.finsmes.com/2018/09/belgium-toughens-up-on-gambling-advertising.html">banned</a> the broadcasting of gambling adverts 15 minutes before or after children’s programming, public posters for gambling, and direct advertising to named individuals in any form. Even these moves were deemed inadequate, with the Belgian Justice Minister <a href="https://www.brusselstimes.com/223595/gambling-is-the-new-smoking-belgium-to-ban-nearly-all-betting-ads">arguing last year</a>: “Gambling advertising is fired at us from all sides every day and encourages these addictions, including among young people.” </p>
<p>Subsequently, the Belgian government <a href="https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/12/19/65456-belgium-approves-draft-royal-decree-to-restrict-gambling-advertising-as-of-june-2023">approved new legislation</a> in December 2022 to ban gambling advertising almost entirely as of July 2023. </p>
<p>The Netherlands has focused on restricting <a href="https://fd.nl/bedrijfsleven/1444902/kabinet-legt-gokreclames-verder-aan-banden">mass marketing</a> on television, radio, internet search engines and public spaces. This approach aims to prevent a <a href="https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/regulation/holding-back-tide/">“bombardment” of gambling ads</a>, particularly to children and young people.</p>
<p>Germany’s June 2021 <a href="https://www.cliffordchance.com/content/dam/cliffordchance/briefings/2021/07/new-german-interstate-treaty-on-gambling-entered-into-effect.pdf">State Treaty on Gambling</a> is the least restrictive measure of the four EU countries that have made the most recent changes to gambling regulations.</p>
<p>It includes a ban on advertising to minors or at-risk groups (such as people likely to suffer from certain mental health conditions, or who previously suffered from a gambling addiction). But most interesting is Germany’s “watershed” approach to licensed online casinos, poker and virtual slot operators. Gambling adverts for these providers are prohibited on radio, TV and the internet between 6am and 9pm. </p>
<p>While the UK also has a watershed approach, this only applies to TV adverts during live sporting events. In the digital era, this seems insufficient.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man using online sports betting services on phone and laptop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508439/original/file-20230206-23-55pu6j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There have also been calls for online sports betting restrictions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A senior commissioner in Germany’s ministry for health <a href="https://www.bundesdrogenbeauftragter.de/presse/detail/sucht-und-drogenbeauftragter-stellt-schwerpunkte-vor/">championed</a> this measure and also wants to expand it to sports betting.</p>
<p>Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany all have restrictions around sports betting given the close relationship between sport (particularly football) and gambling. In Germany, advertising with active athletes and officials is prohibited. <a href="https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-gambling-law-review/belgium">Belgium</a>, the Netherlands and Italy have strong restrictions on most sports betting marketing including betting ads during football matches and full sponsorship bans.</p>
<p>A number of UK campaigners have called for a similar approach, including <a href="https://the-bigstep.com/">the Big Step</a> initiative, whose supporters include former England football star Peter Shilton.</p>
<h2>Reviewing the UK Gambling Act</h2>
<p>These four EU countries’ recent gambling reforms have been quite different, but they all have one thing in common: substantial legislative reforms. </p>
<p>For the UK, our research shows that the safest option, particularly for children and people at risk, is a full advertising and sponsorship ban such as Italy and Belgium have executed.</p>
<p>The UK gambling industry and its lobbying group, the Betting and Gaming Council, has <a href="https://sbcnews.co.uk/sportsbook/2022/02/18/bgc-points-to-european-black-markets-as-warning-to-ministers/">argued</a> that such measures would drive people into black market gambling. But we can find no credible evidence for such claims. It has also argued that there is no evidence to link gambling advertising to gambling harms. But research <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350622003420">has shown this link</a>.</p>
<p>The UK government has emphasised that the current gambling act review needs to “get the balance right” while “following the evidence”. So now is the time to listen, not only to public opinion, but also to mounting evidence about the links between gambling advertising and gambling harms and tighten the regulation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raffaello Rossi currently receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and the charity Action Against Gambling Harms. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agnes Nairn works for the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research at the University of Bristol. The Hub is funded by a grant awarded by the charity GambleAware (this charity receives donations from the gambling industry).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Ford works for the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research at the University of Bristol. The Hub is funded by a grant awarded by the charity GambleAware (this charity receives donations from the gambling industry).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Wheaton works for the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research at the University of Bristol. The Hub is funded by a grant awarded by the charity GambleAware (this charity receives donations from the gambling industry).</span></em></p>
The UK has a gambling problem but some of its neighbours could provide inspiration on how to prevent gambling harms.
Raffaello Rossi, Lecturer in Marketing, University of Bristol
Agnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing, University of Bristol
Ben Ford, Research Associate, University of Bristol
Jamie Wheaton, Research Associate, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/163036
2021-06-30T15:45:02Z
2021-06-30T15:45:02Z
How football and COVID-19 are both triggers for a surge in online gambling
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409088/original/file-20210630-21-sar1gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C0%2C4415%2C2537&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/betting-services-on-internet-gambling-website-1244344783">Shutterstock/Xavier Lorenzo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Euro 2020 is one of the biggest events in football, a festival of goal scoring and glory seeking – and for many, yet another opportunity to gamble.</p>
<p>Anyone following the action – whether it’s at a stadium, on TV or online – will never be far away from an advert inviting them to place a bet on what may or may not happen next. How about a quick punt on the next player to score or which match will go to penalties? </p>
<p>Many of these suggestions come with the seemingly attractive offer of a free bet, just a click away on your nearest connected device. Sport is now inextricably linked to gambling, and the industry’s major operators have a multi-screen presence designed to make placing bets as easy and convenient as possible. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/news/2019/aug/D1261_Horne_DEMOS_Management%20report_2019_web.pdf">report</a>, published in 2019, showed clear spikes in adverts around matches during the World Cup of 2018, as well as quick links to betting opportunities. </p>
<p>These trends are likely to have been repeated during Euro 2020 – but fuelled this time by new habits formed, as our <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y?sharing_token=dGnW0ff4BRbEQVUEGqpfOPe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5h7qw5fGh-kh0y9YawVdUNAx_5ZbsM-7wx2LDObBLFN05zABfyll7J1p5SEWz0an35ywnYEcDNhBPhPzQIdcktlx_XubkQk4mxBX9vgkTQtD6fOH2EIMaaJW2Cwq2fOaw%3D">latest research shows</a>, during the pandemic.</p>
<p>The research, undertaken with participants of the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/about/">Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children</a>, clearly shows how the first lockdown in England sparked a peak in online gambling among younger adults. And while the reduction in live sport and the closure of betting shops reduced overall gambling, online betting went up sixfold for regular gamblers. This included bingo, poker and casino games. </p>
<p>We found that younger men who gambled regularly were much more likely to go online to gamble during the lockdown than they had been in the past. Respondents who only gambled occasionally were still more than twice as likely than before to gamble online. </p>
<p>Our previous work from 2018 used language analysis computer programmes to estimate the age of Twitter users from publicly available data. We found that young people – including children, who are supposedly barred from gambling by law – avidly followed gambling accounts on Twitter. </p>
<p>They actively engaged with tweets from gambling operators by liking, replying and sharing. This kind of “snowball” advertising - where users (of any age) loop in their friends to gambling content – is almost impossible to control. Currently, there are no specific social media advertising regulations. </p>
<p>With international and domestic football matches – and other sports – in full swing again, we can only expect online gambling to soar. And predictably, it will be vulnerable people who suffer the most. </p>
<p>Our more recent study showed that those who struggled financially before the pandemic were more likely to gamble during lockdown. The research also indicated that drinking heavily (defined as more than six units in a session, roughly equivalent to three pints of beer) at least once a week, was strongly linked to regular gambling among both men and women. </p>
<p>The connection between binge drinking and regular gambling is of particular concern, as they are both addictive and can have serious health and social consequences. With the wider availability of gambling through different online channels, vulnerable groups can get caught in a destructive cycle. </p>
<p>The prevalence of home working is likely to exacerbate this, as the temptation to gamble online, amplified by clever advertising, is always there. </p>
<h2>Player power</h2>
<p>This kind of advertising will hopefully be addressed in some form later this year, after the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-review-to-ensure-gambling-laws-are-fit-for-digital-age">review of the Gambling Act 2005</a>. One remit of the review is to consider the effects of gambling advertising, acknowledging the link between sport and betting. </p>
<p>Maybe it will work out a way to reflect the view of the public. According to a <a href="https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/news/public-backs-total-gambling-advertising-ban.html">recent survey</a> almost two-thirds (63%) of adults and over half (53%) of young people support a total ban on adverts for gambling products. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OvYkPG3kYVU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It is unlikely, though, that we will see any major changes in time for the next major footballing event – the World Cup in November 2022. So perhaps we should look to some of football’s big names to make a stand instead. </p>
<p>When Cristiano Ronaldo moved a fizzy drink bottle at the start of a Euro 2020 press conference, he reportedly <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/06/16/coca-cola-cristiano-ronaldo-protest-slashes-billions-off-market-value-14780221/">wiped $US4 billion (£2.84 billion) off</a> Coca-Cola’s market value. Paul Pogba seemed to show a similar kind of disapproval when he <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-16/paul-pogba-moves-heineken-bottle-away-day-after-cristiano-ronaldo-shuns-coca-cola">moved a bottle of beer</a>. </p>
<p>Players and clubs have enormous influence. Currently, <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12254657/premier-league-clubs-to-discuss-shirt-sponsors-featuring-gambling-companies">eight Premier League clubs</a> have betting company logos on their shirts. Maybe the time has come for the stars themselves to try to break the link between the beautiful game and the ugly consequences of gambling.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agnes Nairn has received funding from GambleAware, an independent charity that has a framework agreement with the Gambling Commission (the GB gambling regulator) to deliver the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms within the context of arrangements based on voluntary donations from the gambling industry. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Collard receives funding from GambleAware, an independent charity that has a framework agreement with the Gambling Commission (the GB gambling regulator) to deliver the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms within the context of arrangements based on voluntary donations from the gambling industry.</span></em></p>
Over the course of Euro 2020, fans across the world will be counting the cost of lost bets.
Agnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing, University of Bristol
Sharon Collard, Professor of Personal Finance, University of Bristol
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/130949
2020-02-07T02:21:25Z
2020-02-07T02:21:25Z
We’re told to ‘gamble responsibly’. But what does that actually mean?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313915/original/file-20200206-43123-oyhnf0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C5%2C995%2C660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/betting-bet-sport-phone-gamble-laptop-526821550">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Advertisements for gambling and online betting tell us to “gamble responsibly”. But what does this mean in reality? And how can you gamble responsibly online when another bet is just a click or swipe away?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gambling-in-australian-culture-more-than-just-a-day-at-the-races-1706">Gambling in Australian culture: more than just a day at the races</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia/1-introduction">A total of 64%</a> of Australian adults gamble at least once a year, with <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia/2-gambling-participation">one third</a> of gamblers participating in multiple forms of gambling. <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia/2-gambling-participation">Lottery is the most common form of gambling</a> among those who gamble regularly (76%), followed by instant scratch tickets (22%) and electronic gaming machines (or “pokies”, almost 21%).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.problemgambling.net.au/ausgambling.html">Up to 160,000 Australians</a> experience significant problems from gambling, and up to a further 350,000 experience moderate risks that make them vulnerable to developing a gambling problem.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/education-not-restriction-is-key-to-reducing-harm-from-offshore-gambling-100516">Education, not restriction, is key to reducing harm from offshore gambling</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In about the past 15 years, there’s been a <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/tvepisode/online-gambling">rise in online gambling</a>. While rates of online gambling for Australians <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/agrc/publications/gambling-activity-australia">are low</a> compared to traditional forms of gambling, participation in online gambling appears to be increasing rapidly. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/online-gambling-market">If this continues</a>, online gambling may soon replace traditional, in-venue gambling, particularly for young people.</p>
<p><a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/gen-bet-has-gambling-gatecrashed-our-teens-16/">About one young person</a> in every 25 has a problem with gambling, which is an average of one in every high school classroom. Up to one in five bet on sports matches <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/gen-bet-has-gambling-gatecrashed-our-teens-16/">and</a> one in ten gamble online.</p>
<h2>Young people exposed to gambling when watching sport</h2>
<p>Advertisements for gambling and online betting are particularly common in Australian sport. While there has been a <a href="https://adstandards.com.au/issues/gambling-advertising">recent shift to regulate</a> when and how gambling is advertised during sporting matches, there is still a heavy presence. </p>
<p>In fact, three in four children aged eight to 16 who watch sports <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/reducing-harm/parents/teenagers-and-gambling/">can name at least one</a> betting company.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9DnC2DF1SSM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The campaign ‘Love the Game, not the Odds’ aims to disrupt the idea that gambling is a normal part of sport.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The public health campaign, “<a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/reducing-harm/love-the-game-program/">Love the Game, Not the Odds</a>”, was released addressing the issue of reducing the exposure of young people to sport betting. </p>
<p>It aims to disrupt the notion that gambling is a normal part of sport and being a spectator. And it aims to help start and facilitate conversations with children and adolescents about gambling not needing to be an integral part of gaming.</p>
<h2>How to ‘gamble responsibly’?</h2>
<p>The phrase “gamble responsibly” on advertisements and websites was used for years before researchers and public health advocates looked at the types of behaviours that underpin it.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bpj46f2Z9BA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video from Ladbrokes tells us to ‘gamble responsibly’, but what does this mean in practice?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Responsible gambling is <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/behavioural-indicators-of-responsible-gambling-consumption-64/">defined</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Exercising control and informed choice to ensure that gambling is kept within affordable limits of money and time, is enjoyable, in balance with other activities and responsibilities, and avoids gambling-related harm.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ways of achieving this <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/behavioural-indicators-of-responsible-gambling-consumption-64/">include</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>ensuring gambling is affordable by not gambling with money needed for necessities (such as bills or food)</li>
<li>ensuring gambling doesn’t dominate your leisure time, and you are engaging in other social and leisure activities </li>
<li>avoiding borrowing money or using a credit card to gamble</li>
<li>avoiding gambling when under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, or as a way to manage emotions when you are bored, depressed or anxious</li>
<li>setting limits around how much and long you with gamble for, setting a limit on your maximum bet size, and avoiding increasing bets when winning or losing.</li>
</ul>
<p>Additional tips for people gambling online include:</p>
<ul>
<li>setting limits on how much you can gamble by only using websites with a daily limit spend</li>
<li>avoiding having multiple online gambling accounts. </li>
</ul>
<h2>How do I know if I have a gambling problem?</h2>
<p>There are clear signs when gambling moves from being a hobby to becoming a mental health concern. <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gambling-disorder/what-is-gambling-disorder">These include</a>: </p>
<ul>
<li>needing to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement</li>
<li>feeling restless or irritable when trying to stop gambling</li>
<li>trying to stop or cut back gambling unsuccessfully</li>
<li>spending a lot of time thinking about gambling</li>
<li>gambling when you’re feeling anxious or upset</li>
<li>chasing losses (by trying to make up losses with more gambling)</li>
<li>lying to others to conceal the extent of your gambling</li>
<li>relying on others for money</li>
<li>jeopardising relationships, job or opportunities because of gambling. </li>
</ul>
<p>If you are concerned about your gambling, seek professional help and exclude yourself from gambling venues and websites.</p>
<p>In practice, for online gambling, this might mean disabling automatic logins and deleting accounts.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article raises concerns for you or someone you know, gambling support is available via <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/topics/problem-gambling">Lifeline</a> (13 11 14), or via <a href="https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/">Gambling Help Online</a>, which lists services in your <a href="https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/services-in-your-state">state or territory</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Hronis is an author on a report produced for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation on responsible gambling.</span></em></p>
It is possible to ‘gamble responsibly’, with these handy tips. But if you can’t, there’s help.
Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/126838
2019-11-15T04:13:07Z
2019-11-15T04:13:07Z
Place your bets: will banning illegal offshore sites really help kick our gambling habit?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301886/original/file-20191115-47184-1g3lekj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=83%2C92%2C5516%2C4099&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While total gambling spending in Australia decreased during 2016-17, sports betting increased by 15.3%, from A$921 million to A$1.062 billion.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-11/illegal-offshore-gambling-websites-to-be-blocked-government/11691044">going to start</a> asking internet service providers to block certain offshore gambling websites. </p>
<p>The decision follows former New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/government-ignores-elephant-in-the-room-in-response-to-online-gambling-review-52751">2016 review</a> of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00070">Interactive Gambling Act</a>, which suggested banning access to sites not licensed in Australia. </p>
<p>The review focused on the dangers of these “illegal” sites. The concern was that they didn’t offer consumers the same protection given by gambling businesses licensed in Australia. </p>
<p>In 2017, the federal government <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00085">empowered ACMA</a> to block such sites, and prohibit online advertising promoting them.</p>
<h2>The wild, unregulated internet</h2>
<p>The perceived problem with offshore gambling sites is that they’re not regulated according to Australian standards. Also, they don’t pay tax in Australia. Federal cyber safety minister Paul Fletcher <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-taking-action-against-illegal-offshore-gambling-websites">claims</a> this results in A$100 million in lost tax each year.</p>
<p>The Interactive Gambling Act also prohibits Australia’s online gambling providers offering any form of gambling apart from wagering or lottery sales. But on the internet, casino-style games, poker, and slot machines are readily available from offshore providers. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/education-not-restriction-is-key-to-reducing-harm-from-offshore-gambling-100516">Education, not restriction, is key to reducing harm from offshore gambling</a>
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<p>However, the extent to which online gambling via offshore sites is a problem may be altogether exaggerated. </p>
<p>At the time of the O'Farrell review, A$400 million was being wagered on offshore sites by Australians, at most. Given Aussies lost about A$22 billion to gambling in 2015, that represented less than 2% of the gambling market. </p>
<p>Most gambling losses are from poker machines. During 2016-17, more than <a href="https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/2646/australian-gambling-statistics-34th-edn-1991-92-2016-17-summary-tables.xlsx">A$12 billion was lost on pokies</a>. This made up just over half of that period’s total losses of A$23.7 billion, compared to A$1 billion lost on sports betting and A$3.3 billion lost on race wagering. </p>
<p>In addition, the <a href="https://www.responsiblegambling.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/280537/NSW-Gambling-Survey-2019-Full-Report.PDF">2019 survey of gambling activity in NSW</a> indicated about 0.5% of the population used casino games on the internet, and about 0.3% bet on online poker. </p>
<p>Neither of these are legally available online in Australia. This indicates the population actually using offshore providers may be very small. </p>
<h2>It’s whack-a-mole, but not a hands-on solution</h2>
<p>In any event, attempting to block access to internet sites is problematic. It requires cooperation with (<a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/acma-to-force-isps-to-block-illegal-offshore-gambling-sites-533760">or coercion of</a>) Internet Service Providers. </p>
<p>Sites needing to be blocked must first be identified, and specific technical information must be provided to ISPs to facilitate the block. Meanwhile, those running the site can change its name or move domains, and start where they left off. It’s essentially a game of whack-a-mole. </p>
<p>That said, this doesn’t mean it can’t be done. The <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/law-enforcement-implications-of-illegal-online-gambling">United States has prosecuted</a> multiple offshore gambling providers for breaching its internet gambling ban. But enforcing such a ban chews up precious resources.</p>
<h2>The problems lie with us</h2>
<p>Most of <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/gambling/review-of-illegal-offshore-wagering">O'Farrell’s recommendations</a> were concerned with improving consumer protection regulations for Australian sites, and <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/11_2018/national-policy-statement.pdf">developing and then persuading the states</a> to agree to these.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/action-on-problem-gambling-online-is-a-good-first-step-but-no-silver-bullet-76857">Action on problem gambling online is a good first step, but no silver bullet</a>
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<p>At the time, more harm was being inflicted by Australian registered wagering companies than offshore sites. This is probably still the case. <a href="https://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/docs/duds-mugs-and-the-a-list-the-impact-of-uncontrolled-sportsbetting/">Financial Counselling Australia</a> pointed this out in great detail prior to the O'Farrell review, as did <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-gambling-review-should-not-ignore-the-problems-in-our-own-backyard-47155">others</a>. </p>
<p>The recommendations have now been largely adopted. The states have reformed taxation arrangements for Australian licensed bookmakers, imposing <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/new-online-betting-taxes-to-squeeze-foreign-bookies-20181231-p50oxv.html">point-of-consumption taxes</a>. This means the gambling tax on bookies is imposed in the state where the bet is placed, rather than where it’s licensed. </p>
<p>This makes allowance for the fact that, although most online Australian bookmakers are licensed in the Northern Territory, most of their business comes from other states. Bookies prefer the Northern Territory because of its low tax regime, which collects only A$7 million out of A$2 billion in wagering losses, less than <a href="https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/2646/australian-gambling-statistics-34th-edn-1991-92-2016-17-state-tables.xlsx">4% of revenue</a>. </p>
<p>It has also had a traditionally relaxed approach to regulation, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/sportsbet-ordered-to-pay-winnings-on-unfairly-cancelled-afl-bets-20191031-p536bt.html">although this may be changing</a>.</p>
<h2>Marketing drives gambling</h2>
<p>There’s little doubt <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/online-sports-betting-is-creating-a-new-generation-of-problem-gamblers-20170918-gyjlc3.html">online</a> gambling (done offshore or domestically) causes <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/assessing-gambling-related-harm-in-victoria-a-public-health-perspective-69/">significant</a> <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/weighing-up-the-odds-young-men-sports-and-betting-394/">harm</a>. It has the potential to cause even more, as an increasing number of people are attracted by bookies’ advertisements. </p>
<p>Gambling companies sponsor sports and sporting teams around Australia, with their logos prominent on sports uniforms, on the field, and on memorabilia. The recent Melbourne Cup carnival was a case in point, as are football finals, the Australian Open, and most other major sporting events.</p>
<p>While some people bet online with providers not licensed in Australia, there are still myriad online Australian betting sites available. Website <a href="https://www.sportsbetting.com.au/">Sportsbetting</a> grew by an average of just under <a href="https://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/issues/2646/australian-gambling-statistics-34th-edn-1991-92-2016-17-product-tables.xlsx">20% per year (adjusted for inflation) between 2011 and 2017</a>. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pokies-sport-and-racing-harm-41-of-monthly-gamblers-survey-81486">Pokies, sport and racing harm 41% of monthly gamblers: survey</a>
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<p>The submission of the <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/documents/11/submission-impact-illegal-offshore-wagering.pdf">Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation</a> to the O'Farrell review in 2016 argued growth in online gambling was almost certainly fuelled by intense advertising by bookmakers.</p>
<h2>We need to re-focus</h2>
<p>If we were genuinely concerned about reducing gambling harm, an important step would be to ban or further restrict bookmakers’ advertising capacity.</p>
<p>Currently, “whistle to whistle” bans (five minutes before commencement of play, and until five minutes after play concludes) are in effect for football and other short broadcasts, courtesy of a <a href="https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf">self-regulatory code</a>. </p>
<p>After 8.30pm, however, gambling advertising is permitted and plenty of young people are still watching at this time, being <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/extent-of-and-children-and-young-peoples-exposure-to-gambling-advertising-in-sport-and-non-sport-tv-679/">bombarded with bookies’ ads</a>.</p>
<p>There are also numerous exemptions for advertising during “long form” sports such as cricket, and for racing broadcasts. </p>
<p>As we’ve learned from <a href="https://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/enforce/en/">tobacco</a>, our next step towards gambling harm prevention would be to prohibit advertising and sponsorship. That is, if we really do want to prevent harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Livingstone has received funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the (former) Victorian Gambling Research Panel, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority (the funds for which were derived from hypothecation of gambling tax revenue to research purposes), from the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, and from non-government organisations for research into multiple aspects of poker machine gambling, including regulatory reform, existing harm minimisation practices, and technical characteristics of gambling forms. He has received travel and co-operation grants from the Alberta Problem Gambling Research Institute, the Finnish Institute for Public Health, the Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation, the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Committee, and the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand. He was a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council funded project researching mechanisms of influence on government by the tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries. He has undertaken consultancy research for local governments and non-government organisations in Australia and the UK seeking to restrict or reduce the concentration of poker machines and gambling impacts, and was a member of the Australian government's Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling in 2010-11. He is a member of the Australian Greens.</span></em></p>
Banning offshore gambling sites sounds sensible enough, and the federal government is planning to do this. But to what extent are these sites really ripping off Australian gamblers?
Charles Livingstone, Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/123106
2019-09-23T11:00:41Z
2019-09-23T11:00:41Z
Gambling needs tobacco-like regulation in sports advertising and sponsorship
<p>Not that long ago UK sports fans could indulge their passions by watching the rugby league Silk Cut Challenge Cup, one day cricket’s Benson and Hedges Cup, or the Embassy World Snooker Championship. Not to mention the excitement and glamour of cars branded to look like Marlboro packets on wheels being driven on Formula 1 racetracks around the world. </p>
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<span class="caption">McLaren F1 car branded to look like a Marlboro cigarette packet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/imola-27-april-2019-historic-1990-1383074582?src=hNu4i68FY60FaZYZiw7SAA-1-16">Dan74/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Cigarette branding was once integral to sport and a crucial marketing strategy for the industry. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/001789698404300402">research into</a> the powerful impact of advertising these products – particularly on young people’s awareness, attitudes and intentions to use them – led to legislative changes that ended the relationship between tobacco and sport.</p>
<p>The gap in the market left by the cigarette industry has now been filled by the gambling industry. The Challenge Cup is now the <a href="https://www.rugby-league.com/challengecup">Coral Challenge Cup</a>, and football fans can watch teams take part in competitions such as the <a href="https://www.efl.com/clubs-and-competitions/sky-bet-championship/">Sky Bet Championship</a>. Football, in particular, has seen a rise in commercial arrangements with gambling companies, not just competition sponsorship but <a href="https://www.stokecityfc.com/club/bet365-stadium/">stadium</a> and shirt sponsorship, too. In fact, in the 2019-20 Premier League, half the clubs have betting companies as <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/254513/value-of-jersey-kit-sponsorships-in-the-barclays-premier-league-by-club/">shirt sponsors</a>.</p>
<p>In the UK, gambling-related TV and radio advertising was banned until the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/19/contents">2005 Gambling Act</a> came into force, which relaxed the rules. Since then, spending on gambling-related advertising has <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/53387/trends_in_ad_activity_gambling.pdf">increased significantly</a>, with UK betting firms <a href="https://www.about.gambleaware.org/media/1963/17-067097-01-gambleaware_interim-synthesis-report_080719_final.pdf">spending £328m on direct advertising</a>, such as adverts in commercial breaks in sports programmes, in 2018 alone. This figure is almost certainly an underestimate of the total amount spent on marketing as it doesn’t include online advertising or indirect advertising, such as sponsorship logos on shirts and stadium hoardings. </p>
<p><a href="https://psyarxiv.com/w28av/">New evidence</a> is beginning to reveal the negative effect of gambling adverts. Research from Australia suggests that advertising exposure through “push marketing”, such as promotional text messages, uses techniques to reduce the perception of risk – for instance, by showing gamblers winning – and can result in them betting for longer and losing more money, while believing that these bets are <a href="https://responsiblegambling.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/direct-messages-received-from-wagering-operators-409/">less risky</a>.</p>
<h2>Gambling and young people</h2>
<p>Perhaps more worrying is the potential impact of this advertising on people (under-18s) not old enough to gamble legally. Evidence suggests that gambling adverts on TV and social media capture their attention. </p>
<p>An Australian study <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6376397/">found that</a> not only could young people recall the names of sports betting brands, they were also able to describe distinctive features of brands (such as colour) and accurately match brands with promotions. Similar results have been found in <a href="https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-019-0291-9">the UK</a>, with children and teenagers, age eight to 16, identified as “super-fans” – who watch a lot of football on TV – being more likely to be able to match sponsor brands to club logos.</p>
<p>The potential effect of this on subsequent behaviour is worrying. A fifth of the young people (age 11-16) in the Australian study indicated that they wanted to try gambling. In Britain, it was <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/survey-data/Young-People-and-Gambling-2018-Report.pdf">reported</a> that 14% of children aged 11-16 had gambled in the past week, with 1.7% of those aged 11 -16 classified as “problem” gamblers and 2.2% as “at risk” of problem gambling. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.southwales.ac.uk/documents/776/An_Investigation_of_the_Social_Impact_of_Problem_Gambling_in_Wales_-_Final.pdf">Our latest research</a> shows that for young adults the strongest motive to gamble is increased excitement. In televised sporting events, gambling adverts ramp up the feeling of excitement and give the perception that gambling is a fundamental part of watching sports. </p>
<p>Concerns about the exposure of young people to gambling adverts have already and led to voluntary industry commitments, such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/01/gambling-advert-ban-takes-effect-from-start-of-ashes">new “whistle-to-whistle” ban</a> on gambling advertising during televised sports (except horse racing) before 9pm. But embedded promotions, such as stadium sponsorship, league sponsorship, promotional logos on team uniforms and pitch signage, are not covered by this measure and so remain visible to viewers. </p>
<p>Critics of embedded promotion are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14459795.2017.1388830">most concerned with</a> its subtle and deceptive assimilation into live screen time. From this perspective, the promotional intent is concealed, as the gambling-endorsing advertisements are carefully <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527260500358608">integrated into the spectator’s emotional experience</a>. </p>
<p>This was perhaps no more aptly demonstrated than by high-profile former England captain Wayne Rooney signing for Derby County – an English second-tier club sponsored by the betting brand “32Red” – and being assigned the number 32 shirt. A move the sports minister, Nigel Adams, called <a href="https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/16-august/news/uk/wayne-rooney-must-listen-to-outcry-over-gambling-says-bishop-of-st-albans">“very crafty”</a>.</p>
<p>We are currently researching the social impact of gambling and looking at developing screening measures to identify people at risk of gambling harm. Existing screening measures, used by addiction and recovery services, are ineffective and open to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1455072519829407">misinterpretation</a>.
A consequence of this is the possibility of the under-representation of gambling harm in the population and the perception that “problem gamblers” are a tiny minority. Gambling has become increasingly advanced and accessible and this potentially puts many more people at risk than previously indicated.</p>
<p>As global research has established the problems that gambling can cause, the UK government now need to impose strict tobacco-like restrictions on gambling adverts, and break the perception that gambling and sport are integral to each other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123106/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gareth Roderique-Davies has received funding from the personal research budgets of a number of Welsh Assembly members. He has also received funding from European Social Funds/Welsh Government, Alcohol Concern (now Alcohol Change) and Research Councils. He is an invited observer of the Cross-Party Group on Problem Gambling at the National Assembly for Wales and sits on the “Beat the Odds” steering group that is run by Cais Ltd.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bev John has received funding from the personal research budgets of a number of Welsh Assembly members. She has also received funding from European Social Funds/Welsh Government, Alcohol Concern (now Alcohol Change) and Research Councils. She is an invited observer of the Cross-Party Group on Problem Gambling at the National Assembly for Wales and sits on the “Beat the Odds” steering group that is run by Cais Ltd.</span></em></p>
Research has shown that betting advertisements can have a huge effect on young people, so why are gambling companies still allowed to sponsor sports?
Gareth Roderique-Davies, Professor of Psychology, University of South Wales
Bev John, Professor of Addictions and Health Psychology, University of South Wales
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/108848
2019-01-02T10:20:56Z
2019-01-02T10:20:56Z
We took a gamble on Premier League betting odds – and showed that football bets should come with a health warning
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250674/original/file-20181214-185261-17r6cj9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/soccer-ball-on-green-glass-white-1112645465?src=L_gUGRfWmcfEWmaeObTopg-5-68">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Please drink responsibly” is a familiar plea to those who might be inclined to consume alcohol, and we are also reminded to “gamble responsibly”, a timely reminder during a busy period <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-footballs-festive-fixture-congestion-is-so-bad-for-injuries-107413">for Premier League football</a>, full of fixtures and plenty of casual fans with time on their hands.</p>
<p>You can make a reasonable judgement about responsible drinking by using the percentage alcohol by volume (ABV) information on the label of whichever bottle has been opened. But how can we determine the strength of a football bet?</p>
<p>In fact, “gambling harm” can also be approximated by a percentage. The “gamblers’ losses” percentage is a measure of the money bet that a gambler will lose in the long term. Short term randomness around this percentage is what makes gambling interesting – but over longer time periods, gamblers will lose this percentage of all the money they bet.</p>
<p>We think most people probably have no idea of what percentage of all money bet is lost across different football bets. So <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/sxbaq">we looked</a> at eight seasons of Premier League betting odds and results using machine learning.</p>
<p>Machine learning allowed us to simulate three potential human betting strategies over long periods of time. One “random” strategy effectively simulated the risks of throwing darts at a set of betting odds. By comparison, a “most-skilled” strategy carefully studied the betting odds and results for three whole seasons before judiciously selecting the best bet it could find for each match. </p>
<p>We also looked at the returns of a strategy that deliberately tried to be as unskilled as possible. The “least-skilled” strategy chose what might be thought of as the worst case scenario for each match. This mirrors the returns of someone who is not merely unlucky, but is unskilled (and who may benefit from more help and advice). Any differences between these three strategies reflect the role of skill in Premier League football betting.</p>
<p>The risks varied based on both the type of bet chosen and the specific betting strategy used. When simulating the returns of a given bet of, say £1, we found that the gamblers’ losses percentage varied by a factor of 54. Using the drinking comparison, this is like the difference between a 1% reduced strength lager and a strong bottle of whisky.</p>
<p>Some of the highest risks came from betting on the correct score, a bet with pretty high odds, which you might have seen the actor Ray Winstone offering on British <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/3uc9s/">television over Christmas</a>. For example, Manchester City to win 3-1, might have odds of 9/1, meaning every £1 bet wins £9 if Manchester City win by that score line.</p>
<p>We found that that just randomly selecting correct score bets would hit you with a strong average loss of 34.3%. But the worse case scenario was a whopping average loss of 58.9%, which came when the least skilled strategy picked very high correct scores (such as the away team winning by four goals to nil). Of course, sometimes bets at high odds pay off. But overall, these figures mean that for every £100 bet, on average the gambler lost £34.30 and £58.90 for their betting strategies.</p>
<p>Luckily there are two tips that gamblers can do to keep their losses within reasonable limits. </p>
<p>The first tip is to select types of bets with relatively low odds. The bookmakers love advertising correct score bets, for example, because these bets offer high odds if gamblers guess the correct score. </p>
<h2>Good odds it’s a bad bet</h2>
<p>But one bet with lower odds is what we call a “home-draw-away” bet, either betting on Manchester City to win, a draw, or the away team to win. Here the random strategy returned average percentage losses of 8.7%, so nearly four times less than randomly choosing correct score bets.</p>
<p>The second tip is to select bets with relatively low odds within a given bet type. Manchester City are usually expected to win by the bookmakers, and at the time of writing, betting £1 on them to win their recent match <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46663366">against Southampton</a> gave a potential win of £1.27 if successful. By comparison, a £1 bet on Southampton to triumph would return £11 if successful. </p>
<p>Many gamblers might get excited by those higher odds on Southampton winning. But across each bet type, bets at low odds had the lowest average losses for gamblers. If a bet has odds that seem too high to be true, it probably is a bad bet on average.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251753/original/file-20181220-103660-88bb3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Warning label.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The gambling industry recently announced that it will stop showing gambling advertising pre-watershed, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/13/betting-firms-to-ban-pre-watershed-tv-adverts-during-live-sport-events">starting from summer 2019</a>. So promoting betting odds on TV during the football will soon become a thing of the past. </p>
<p>But the industry is currently spending five times as much on online marketing (£1.2 billion) <a href="https://about.gambleaware.org/media/1857/2018-11-24-gambling-marketing-online-five-times-tv-ad-spend.pdf">as on its total TV advertising spend</a>. This online marketing is largely hidden to anyone who is not targeted to receive these messages.</p>
<p>We believe that the very high differences in product risk across football bets should at least be communicated in some way to consumers. While further research should investigate how best to educate football fans about these different risks, reminders to just “gamble responsibly” won’t cut it. </p>
<p>Consumers need to be told about the risks of football bets with high odds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108848/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Newall was in 2018 included as a named researcher on a grant funded by GambleAware, an independent charity committed to minimizing gambling-related harm.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arman Hassanniakalager does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Some football bets are 50 times more harmful than others.
Arman Hassanniakalager, Lecturer in Finance, University of Bath
Philip Newall, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Warwick
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.