Sportsbetting advertising during live and televised matches continues to be a concern for responsible gambling advocates. A new study by the Australian Gambling Research Centre delves into the issue, determine whether or not they is a like between sportsbetting advertising and problem gambling. The sportsbetting advertising market has grown significantly recently.
In 2012, 3069 sportsbetting ads aired on all types of popular media (excluding social media). Included in this group, there were 528 ads that were placed on free-to-air television and pay TV. As a group, they were played over 20 000 times in total. With gambling advertising becoming more prevalent, its cost has also increased. As such, the value of sportsbetting has quadrupled from 2010 to 2012.
The research notes that betting advertising has become ‘embedded’ into live sporting events and broadcasted sports. Spectators and television viewers cannot avoid being exposed to betting advertising. Team jerseys feature betting shop logos while live odds are displayed at regular intervals through the games. Ads are aired during commercial breaks and electronic banners are on display at the grounds.
The saturation of sports by gambling advertisements has responsible gambling advocates very concerned. There are about 39 000 children who watch sports in Australia, and they are exposed to gambling advertisements whenever they watch their favourite team play. It is thought that this type of advertising ‘normalises’ gambling for them, making them feel that betting and sports are inherently linked.
There are also concerns that sportsbetting advertising has a negative impact on problem gamblers. From 2006 to 2010, the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment Clinic has seen the number of clients with sportsbetting-related problems increase significantly. Other studies show that problem gamblers named sportsbetting as the ‘most problematic’ form of gambling.
You can read the full research report at the Australian Gambling Research Centre website.
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