Gambling - Interim report into gambling advertising and marketing published

In March 2018, GambleAware commissioned two independent consortia to assess the extent, nature and impact of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable groups in the UK.  On the 9^th July they published an interim report produced by Ipsos MORI, that examines the frequency and format of gambling advertising and marketing, and the exposure among children, young people and vulnerable adults.

The key objectives of the research were:

• To explore whether and how gambling marketing and advertising influences children, young people and vulnerable adults’ attitudes towards gambling.
• To examine the tone and content of gambling marketing and advertising across all media, including social media, and to explore the potential impact of these on children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• To identify specific themes and features of gambling advertising that children, young people and vulnerable adults are particularly susceptible to.

This is an interim report and a full report will follow in due course, from this initial research a number of conclusions have been reached affirming the complexity of the issue:

“…Appeal [of advertising material] cannot therefore realistically be defined in a simplistic binary ‘does appeal to young people’ or ‘does not appeal to young people’ fashion, or in terms that classify appeal as being significantly different at the point at which children turn 16. Gambling advertising in sport is a clear example of a category that can appeal to a wide audience (for example in the use of sports stars), including children, even if this is not the overall intention.”

Mori have made 12 recommendations that they consider should warrant further consideration among industry, regulators and researchers.