Gambling promotions during televised sport: An adolescent perspective

Transcription

1 Gambling promotions during televised sport: An adolescent perspective Nerilee Hing, Peter Vitartas, Matt Lamont, Elian Fink This study was funded by a Responsible Gambling Research Grant from the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney General National Association for Gambling Studies Conference 2013

2 Background Exponential growth of sports betting Proliferation of sports betting advertising And promotion of sports betting during televised sport Community concerns Especially for children and young people. Exposed while watching televised sporting events promoted as family friendly and broadcast during general viewing times

3 Wide variety of promotional techniques

4 In Australia Betfair case prompted intense international interest in Australian sports betting market & prolific advertising Government inquiries Amendments to broadcast advertising codes Match commentary and on-screen displays of live betting odds curtailed from August 2013 But youth still exposed to plethora of other gambling promotions during televised sport

5 Why is this a concern? May normalise gambling for youth May transfer safe and healthy image of sport to gambling Role model effects May breed a new generation of at-risk and problem gamblers BUT, no research has examined the impact of gambling promotions during televised sport on youth (Derevensky et al., 2010; Hing, Vitartas & Lamont, 2013; Lamont, Hing & Gainsbury, 2011; Maher et al., 2006; Thomas, Lewis & Duong, 2012)

6 This study aimed to examine: Adolescents exposure to, recall of and attitudes to gambling promotions during televised sport Whether adolescents perceive these promotions encourage them to gamble on sports and other gambling forms Associations between: adolescents exposure and attitude to gambling promotions during televised sport attitude to sports betting subjective norms around sports betting intentions to gamble on sports and other gambling activities once of legal gambling age Hypotheses based on Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; 1980)

7 Research model, measures & hypotheses

8 Methods Part of a larger study funded by Qld Dept of Justice & Attorney General, that included focus groups and larger adult & sports bettor surveys Panel of Qld adolescents years (N = 131) Representative by gender, 49.6% male Mean age = 14.9 years Online survey in October 2012, before ban on promotion of live betting odds during play All scales reliable, Cronbach s alpha

9 Sport watching involvement High exposure to gambling promotions in sport 80% watch televised sport where gambling is promoted Nearly all sports watchers do so at home (98%) with family (70%) 14% watch at least sometimes with young people aged 0-5 yrs, 34% with 6-11 years, 73% with years

10 Exposure to gambling promotions during televised sport At least monthly At least weekly % % Rugby League AFL Rugby Union Soccer Cricket Motor racing Tennis Golf

11 Unprompted recall of gambling brands 42.0% of the adolescents recalled (unprompted) at least one gambling brand from watching televised sport Of the six gambling brands most frequently recalled, five were for wagering operators and the other was for keno The most recalled brand was recalled by 26% of respondents

12 Attitude to gambling promotions The majority of adolescents: Had a negative general attitude to the promotion of gambling during televised sport. Agreed the promotions: were uninteresting, annoying, bad, offensive and inappropriate do not increase their enjoyment of watching sport make gambling and sports betting seem like something most people do encourage children to want to gamble encourage gamblers to want to gamble more will increase gambling problems in Australia

13 Approval of promotional techniques Technique Live studio crosses to gambling operators discussing betting odds Approve % Disapprove % 8 68 Celebrity endorsement of gambling 5 66 On-screen displays of live betting odds 7 59 In-match commentary about betting odds 8 57 On-screen displays of gambling logos and websites 8 56 Pre-match commentary on betting odds 8 56 Gambling advertisements in commercial breaks 8 55 Promotion of novelty bets, 8 53 Gambling logos on players uniforms Stadium signage promoting gambling operators 11 50

14 Perceived encouragement to gamble from promotions Technique Agree Promotion of novelty bets (e.g.1 st 100 callers, money-back) 16% Pre-match commentary on betting odds 13% On-screen displays of live betting odds 13% Celebrity endorsement of gambling 13% Live studio crosses to gambling operators discussing betting odds 12% Segments sponsored by gambling companies 10% On-screen displays of gambling logos and websites 10% Stadium signage promoting gambling operators 10% Gambling logos on players uniforms 9% Gambling advertisements in commercial breaks 9% In-match commentary about betting odds 8%

15 Multivariate analysis Adolescents more likely to intend to bet on sports once 18 yrs if: male positive attitudes towards gambling sponsors positive attitudes sports embedded promotions Adolescents are more likely to intend to gamble on non-sports activities once 18 yrs if: male positive social norms about sports betting (family & friends) positive attitudes towards sports embedded promotions

16 Conclusions Findings suggest these gambling promotions are likely to increase future gambling participation by today s adolescents, as evidenced by: 1. their high exposure to sports embedded gambling marketing, and widespread awareness and recall of gambling brands 2. subjective responses of sizeable minorities who feel encouraged to sports bet due to these promotions 3. multivariate analysis indicating that adolescents are more likely to gamble once of legal gambling age if they are male, have positive attitudes towards gambling sponsors and sports embedded promotions, have positive social norms about sports betting Which raises concerns about their potential contribution to future problem gambling

17 Conclusions (cont d) Limitations: Sample representative only by gender Panel vs general population Modest sample size; only Qld Only intention to gamble measured Cross-sectional, no causal inferences Recent restrictions on the promotion of live betting odds during televised sport appropriate Restrict other types of gambling promotions or ensure these are not televised during general viewing time? Health promotion messages to counter effects?

18 More info Full report to QLD DoJAG Feb 2014 Hing, N., Vitartas, P., Lamont, M., & Fink, E. (submitted). Adolescent exposure to gambling promotions during televised sport: An exploratory study of links with gambling intentions. International Gambling Studies