GambleAware has released an Expression of Interest to appoint a roster of research agencies and organisations to work with who cover research needs around advertising, brand and secondary data analysis over the next two years. The core workstreams are primary research commissions where agencies will be responsible for data collection/fieldwork, although there are also numerous secondary research needs.
This short paper recaps the campaign background, rationale and execution for the women’s prevention campaign launched by GambleAware on the 31st January 2022. This paper will also introduce the campaign evaluation approach and some of the key findings from the evaluation to date
A Synthesis Report on the Bet Regret Safer Gambling Campaign, outlining how research was used to inform the development of the various stages of the campaign and ensure an evidence-based approach was applied throughout.
This report provides an overview of the key steps in the development and implementation of the Bet Regret campaign. The report was published on behalf of the Safer Gambling Campaign Board.
Gambling operators in the United Kingdom have introduced a voluntary ban on adverts broadcast during televised sport before 21:00 (the ‘whistle-to-whistle’ ban). To inform debates around the potential effectiveness of this ban, we examine the frequency and nature of gambling marketing in televised broadcasts across professional sporting events.
In February 2019, GambleAware commissioned ScotCen to conduct a survey of 11-24-year olds in England, Scotland and Wales. Although an online survey of those aged 11-24 had been part of the original commissioning process, delays in accessing the sample and issues encountered in the pilot resulted in a number of modifications, the major ones being:
• The survey changed mode from online only to a sequential postal-online-computer
assisted telephone interview (CATI) model
• Incentives were to be offered on completion of the survey.
This report explores awareness of, and participation with, gambling marketing and its association with gambling-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour among those aged 11-24 years.
Executive summary of a final synthesis report to explore the effect of gambling advertising on children, young people and vulnerable adults. It draws on data from all nine strands of research carried out as part of this study.
In March 2018, GambleAware commissioned two independent consortia to assess the extent, nature and impact of gambling marketing and advertising on children, young people and vulnerable groups in the UK. The first consortium was led by Ipsos MORI (in partnership with University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh, Ebiquity and the Centre for Analysis of Social Media at Demos), and the second by the University of Stirling (in partnership with ScotCen Social Research, University of Glasgow, and University of Warwick). Each consortium looked at the broad spectrum of gambling marketing and advertising, using different research methods. Separate consortium reports have been prepared to give more detail on the work each consortia led and methods used.
Ipsos MORI have written this final synthesis report to explore the effect of gambling advertising on children, young people and vulnerable adults. It draws on data from all nine strands of research carried out as part of this study.
The scale and character of Twitter-based gambling advertising activity revealed in this report raises important questions for regulators, social media companies and the gambling industry.
Executive Summary: Ipsos MORI have written this interim synthesis report, which explores exposure, tone and format of gambling related marketing and advertising. It draws on data from all strands minus the survey of children and young people and collection of ‘click through data’ (strands 7 and 10). The results from these strands will be available in due course and will form part of the final, full synthesis report which will report on the impact of gambling advertising.
In March 2018, GambleAware commissioned a series of studies to assess the extent, nature and impact of gambling marketing on children, young people and vulnerable groups in the UK. Overall, the series of studies used a variety of methods to examine the extent of current gambling marketing in the UK across different media including social media, the nature and content of gambling marketing in different media, and how children, young people and vulnerable groups respond to gambling marketing. This report presents findings from the qualitative research conducted as part of this series of studies by ScotCen Social Research.
Legislation and technology have led to unprecedented changes in the frequency and content of gambling marketing in many countries. The authors build upon previous reviews by exploring research on gambling marketing from between 2014 and 2018.
The research produced by the ISM and collaborators part of the consortia are divided into two reports. This first report focuses on the nature and content of gambling marketing and advertising in the UK and how it may reach and influence children, young people, and vulnerable groups. Findings are presented from three work packages: a literature review, a content analysis of gambling advertising in paid for media, and an analysis of gambling references broadcasts of professional sport in the UK. The second report (due Autumn 2019) will explore awareness of, and participation with, gambling marketing and what association (if any) this has with gambling-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour.
GambleAware has requested a brief paper outlining evidence for gambling and gambling-related activity (such as various forms of advertising) being subject to a ‘tipping point’ when public opinion causes policy makers to introduce, modify, or ban gambling-related regulation and/or gambling-related activity (such as various forms of advertising). This paper will explore the processes that may be instrumental in fostering policy makers to introduce or modify gambling-related regulations in response to public pressure for reform. The intent is not to review the validity of claims made by the public, academics, lobbyists, or advocacy groups but rather to describe factors that trigger regulatory changes in response to demands for action.
GambleAware has requested a summary of (1) live-odds in-sports betting and whether this form of advertising causes harm in a way that gambling advertising in general does not, and (2) the risks posed to gamblers, and particularly problem gamblers, by time-limited special offers.
In response to a request by the Research Committee, GambleAware has asked IROP to produce a brief paper on Skins betting & Blockchain. The purpose of the report is to provide an overview of the concept of Skins betting & Blockchain to inform the Committee as the nature, function and possible implications for gambling associated with these emergent forms of gambling.
Calls to action are a highly persuasive component of advertising. Calls to action within gambling advertisements are likely to have the greatest impact on consumers who are predisposed to gambling, have accounts with an operator, and have difficulty controlling their gambling. The harm potentially related to calls to action for betting is proportional to the immediacy upon which these can be engaged with.
This paper presents the results of research by Demos to understand the relationship between gambling and social media within the UK. A short scoping study, the research aims to understand the scale and nature of conversations related to gambling that now happen across a number of different spaces within the digital world, the extent to which they can be researched, and overall to scope the potential for future research opportunities in this area.
This report provides a critical review of research on gambling advertising, with particular attention to studies that concern the impact of such advertising on participation in gambling and the prevalence of problem gambling.
This research, commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust, explored machine players’ understanding of the ‘return to player’ (RTP) messages displayed on gaming machines. These messages advertise what proportion of money is returned to players in prizes and form part of a package of measures to promote responsible gaming.
"No one ever talks about losses. So, it's really hard to even know if someone's got a problem or not, because if you haven’t won for a while – you just won’t say anything...Hearing other people’s stories that are similar to mine kind of makes you think ‘Wait a minute’… you realise you’re not a million miles away from it."
"I try and set myself limits to keep it under control. You can sit there and say you’re in control – but sometimes you’re not. Having a spend calculator is really helpful….it visually shows how much you’re spending. You can’t ignore it."
"I never thought I had a problem. I didn't want to be seen like a gambler and addict. But they're all the things that I was...I think now knowing that I can pick up the phone to someone, or I could reach out to someone and get help straight away…it might have been easier."
"At first I wouldn’t say anything because actually... it's not really my place to say, it's not my money. Then I thought I could help him, but I realise now that's not the case and I should have looked after myself first… I still sometimes have to remember to do that."
"I never talked about anything. I wish I had, just saying stuff out loud makes such a difference… I went to group meetings and the more I spoke about my story, the more open I was. And the more I was getting asked questions and getting more involved. It was that that helped me in my recovery."