Young people are being overwhelmed with gambling adverts, and social casino and sports betting adverts in particular, in their everyday lives, a new report has revealed. At the same time, at-risk young people’s exposure to gambling advertising has been unprecedented.

Children between the age of 12 and 17, who are considered at risk of developing gambling addiction, have confirmed there was a wide range of sources promoting gambling, including at school, in their homes, as well as in digital and media environments.

Two new reports commissioned by the Government of New South Wales (NSW) unveiled the roots of adolescent gambling and the risks associated with it, as well as the sources of influence that can put underage individuals at risk of suffering gambling-related harm.

According to the NSW Youth Gambling Study 2022, all individuals who took part in the study recalled being exposed to gambling adverts, especially sports betting ads on TV, from an early age. The report claims that children’s exposure to online gambling advertising gets more frequent and increasingly prevalent, especially during online gaming sessions and their social media channels. The study further noted that the majority of participants criticised gambling advertising, saying that it should be subject to further restrictions aimed at limiting young people’s exposure to such content.

YouTube was unveiled as the social media platform that most commonly displayed gambling adverts, with most individuals who took part in the study sharing there was significant exposure to gambling ads aired before videos and online influencers’ sponsored content.

Social Media Networks Feature Gambling Adverts Targeting Adolescents, New Reports Says

As mentioned above, the NSW Youth Gambling Study 2022 outlined a trend of gambling adverts becoming more widespread among influencers on social media.

One of the survey participants shared that they had seen a lot of people promoting online gambling websites on the short-form video hosting service TikTok, with influencers promising potential customers to generate massive wins. Furthermore, such influencers rarely inform their viewers that such content is sponsored.

According to the report, gambling adverts that are not announced as sponsored seemed to have a more significant influence on the gambling habits of some participants and their gambling plans.

The report calls for varied protective strategies to be used to cover multiple areas of gambling adverts’ influence on young audiences. Even the young people who took part in the survey have called for the establishment of tighter regulation of gambling and so-called simulated gambling products, the implementation of age restrictions, raising awareness of gambling and gambling-related harm and far less advertising.

Second Reveals Parental Gambling Affects Underage Children

As mentioned above, the Government of New South Wales commissioned one report, too. The second report, called The Role of Parents in Youth Gambling, found that almost 70% of parents who had gambled over the past 12 months did so in the presence of an underage individual.

The second study found that parents helping adolescent gambling acted as the most significant feature that indicated adolescent problem gambling. Other factors involved poor parental monitoring, adolescent simulated gambling, and problematic relationships between parents and their teenage children.

More than 25% of participants reported that their adolescent child had taken part in no less than one form of gambling during the past 12 months. Purchasing instant scratch tickets and buying Lotto or lottery being the most common type of gambling. The report revealed that fathers usually have higher levels of gambling participation among underage individuals, as well as higher problem gambling rates.

The Role of Parents in Youth Gambling report suggests that strategies had to be introduced to fathers, and more specifically, fathers who gamble, as well as parents who are occupied in behaviours that pretty much permit teenage gambling.

David Harris, the minister for gambling and racing of New South Wales, shared that the findings are set to provide more information about gambling education and awareness strategies. That is why the results of the survey will be shared with local providers of gambling treatment services to parents, schools and youth service providers. Mr Harris acknowledged that young people are exposed to too much gambling advertising and this needs to change through a gambling reform aimed at reducing gambling-related harm.