A recent study, led by Dr. Hannah Pitt from Deakin’s Institute for Health Transformation and other researchers from Curtin University and the University of Wollongong, has revealed how Australian teens feel about gambling and betting marketing.
As the study explains, marketing can substantially affect the normalisation of gambling among young people, particularly when associated with a healthy activity such as sports. Furthermore, while gambling and betting marketing have become omnipresent in Australia, young people have never been consulted about their perception of the government’s policies concerning gambling marketing regulations.
The study’s focus group included 12-17 year olds from the states of Victoria and New South Wales. They were asked to share their thoughts on the current gambling policies, particularly ones associated with gambling marketing.
Dr. Pitt explained that, generally, young people believed the government’s response to gambling marketing was slow and the lack of action had an adverse effect on their lives.
The response of a 15-year-old girl from New South Wales most accurately captures the attitude of the young generation of Australians: “It’s changing our lives, not for the better. It’s important that we have a say.”
The opinion of another 16-year-old girl from Victoria revealed how young people felt about ads on social media platforms: “The Prime Minister needs to put more pressure on social media and media networks … to make sure children aren’t exposed to gambling ads.”
Professor Samantha Thomas, one of the lead researchers explained that there was an increasing amount of evidence from young people, parents, and health experts pointing to the government’s “inadequate” approach to gambling marketing. Calling gambling a “predatory industry”, the professor highlighted that policies did not act “in the best interests of children and young people.”
Results and Conclusions of the Study
Participants in the study underlined the necessity of more effective regulations concerning the content and frequency of gambling marketing. Drawing on the youth’s perceptions of gambling marketing, Dr. Pitt concluded they would support more stringent regulation, “including outright banning of gambling marketing messages.”
Additionally, to successfully balance the positive effects of gambling brought forward by marketing messages, young people felt they must see “more realistic representations of the negative impacts of gambling.”
Most respondents shared they were willing to see young people actively engaged in the decision-making process, including involvement in research and getting access to communication channels with the government.
The study ultimately concludes that since young people have always been the major driving force for change and progress in society, their active engagement in the sphere of responsible gambling can be very useful: “Creating formal structures that facilitate the inclusion of young people’s perspectives in decisions made about gambling can result in more innovative and effective strategies to prevent the harms from gambling industry products, promotions, and practices.”
- Author
Daniel Williams
