GambleAware report: Gambling is part of everyday life for young children
Report finds that 96% of young children were exposed to gambling ads within the last month
Research commissioned by GambleAware has found that gambling is seen as part of everyday life for children, young people and vulnerable adults.
The research was conducted in tandem by Ipsos MORI and the Institute for Social Marketing at the University of Stirling.
The report found that 96% of 11 to 24-year-olds taking part in the study were exposed to gambling marketing messages within the last month and that 85% of the participants had reported seeing gambling advertising on television.
It was also found that social media plays a major role in exposing gambling towards potential at-risk demographics.
Two thirds of participants reported seeing gambling promotions on their social media channels while it was discovered that 41,000 UK followers of gambling-related accounts were likely to be under 16.
The report also noted that 6% of followers of traditional gambling accounts were children, a figure that increased to 17% when looking at esports gambling accounts.
Research showed that if a child or young person has a close friend or primary care giver who gambles, said individual is six times more likely to gamble than those without such connection.
The report found that “adverts were successful in eliciting a range of emotional and cognitive responses from children, young people and vulnerable adults. This therefore was likely to shape their attitudes and the likelihood as to whether or not they would consider gambling in the future”.
Speaking on the findings of the research, GambleAware CEO Marc Etches said that constant exposure of gambling to young people “has the potential for serious long-term implications”.
Etches continued: “Gambling is an adult activity, but this new research conclusively shows that it has become part of everyday life for children and young people. This constant exposure to it through advertising and marketing, or via close friends and family, has the potential for serious long-term implications for children and young people.
“The exposure to gambling on social media suggests there is a clear need for social media companies to improve age screening tools and for gambling companies to make full use of existing ones, to help protect children from potential harmful exposure to gambling.
“We must always be mindful that gambling is a public health issue and it can have serious implications for people’s mental health,” he added.