Social media continues to be one of the most far-reaching forms of communication. As advertising on this channel increases, it is important for researchers to understand the various effects that it has on young people – especially with regards to gambling.

A new study by researchers at Southern Cross University delves into this issue, finding that online gambling companies are able to reach out to underage individuals which may have harmful effects. The study included a survey of 1554 adults and 561 young people, who were interviewed about their gambling habits and social media behaviour.

On social networking sites like Facebook, brands can publish advertisements that will appear on the news feeds of site visitors. In many cases, these ads appear to young people who are below the legal gambling age. This can be harmful, as exposing underage individuals to gambling may normalise the activity and possibly cause them to develop unhealthy gambling habits later on in life.

These concerns are heightened by the results of the study, which found that 10% of adults increased their gambling levels due to promotions on social media. Since this form of advertising is very effective among adults, it is has a similar outcome for young people. According to the study, 15% of adolescents have engaged with gambling operators via social media by clicking on or sharing posts.

"It does suggest that for the vulnerable, social media promotion is having an impact," says Dr Sally Gainsbury, who worked on the study. There is a vast difference between social media advertising and advertising on more traditional outlets like television. During sports broadcasts, gambling operators face tough restrictions as they are only allowed to advertise very specific content in very specific ways.

In the social media realm, this type of regulation doesn’t exist, so operators can get away with much more. The study concluded that restrictions are required on social media sites. These would go a long way to preventing young people from interacting with gambling operators via advertisements.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.