School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.
College of Education, Psychology & Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.
J Gambl Stud. 2024 Dec;40(4):2005-2025. doi: 10.1007/s10899-024-10347-x. Epub 2024 Jul 24.
Sports betting is becoming increasingly common among young people in the UK and Australia. There is a need to understand how the marketing of sports betting may influence risky and pathological gambling to inform policies aimed at reducing harm. This study examines whether sports betting advertising may predict problem gambling scores among young people, while accounting for non-marketing variables.
We recruited 567 participants (53.1% male) aged 18-24 years from an online research panel. Participants were eligible if they had an active betting account and regularly bet on sports. We conducted a hierarchical regression analysis to examine whether four marketing-related measures (exposure to advertising, ad-driven betting decisions, use of betting inducements, and perceived susceptibility to betting inducements) could predict PGSI scores. We controlled for several demographic, psychological, and behavioural variables, including gender, gambling participation, spend per session, participation in in-play betting, normative beliefs about sports betting, and impulsivity.
The study revealed that sports betting marketing was positively associated with PGSI scores after controlling for non-marketing variables. Significant marketing predictors included ad-driven betting decisions and perceived influence from betting inducements. Other significant predictors included participation in non-sports betting gambling activities, spend per session, involvement in in-play betting, and the impulsivity trait of negative urgency.
Sports betting marketing appears to be implicated in young people's gambling problems. Specifically, young people who have gambling problems may be more likely to bet in response to advertising, and betting incentives may contribute to an intensification of their gambling behaviour. This study supports the implementation of regulations and restrictions on advertising as a measure to protect young problem gamblers.
在英国和澳大利亚，年轻人越来越多地参与体育博彩。了解体育博彩营销如何影响风险和病态赌博，为旨在减少伤害的政策提供信息十分必要。本研究考察了体育博彩广告是否可以预测年轻人的赌博问题得分，同时考虑了非营销变量。
我们从一个在线研究小组中招募了 567 名 18-24 岁的参与者（53.1%为男性）。如果参与者有活跃的投注账户且经常投注于体育项目，则符合条件。我们进行了层次回归分析，以检验四种与营销相关的措施（广告曝光度、广告驱动的投注决策、投注诱因的使用和对投注诱因的易感性）是否可以预测 PGSI 得分。我们控制了几个人口统计学、心理和行为变量，包括性别、赌博参与度、每次投注的花费、参与即场投注、对体育博彩的规范信念和冲动性。
在控制非营销变量后，研究表明体育博彩营销与 PGSI 得分呈正相关。具有显著预测作用的营销因素包括广告驱动的投注决策和对投注诱因的感知影响。其他重要的预测因素包括参与非体育博彩赌博活动、每次投注的花费、参与即场投注以及冲动特质中的消极紧迫感。
体育博彩营销似乎与年轻人的赌博问题有关。具体来说，有赌博问题的年轻人可能更有可能因广告而投注，而投注激励可能会加剧他们的赌博行为。本研究支持实施广告监管和限制措施，以保护有问题的年轻赌徒。
