Children 12-17 in Australia See Too Many Gambling Ads

This, the reports commissioned, reviewed, and published by the state indicates that those age groups are particularly vulnerable to problem gambling and developing unhealthy habits that could translate into life-altering consequences.

Children See and Are Aware of Gambling Ads and Products

The “inundation” of gambling ads, as the problem has been called, has seen the proliferation of gambling advertisements across social and digital media environments. The NSW Youth Gambling Study 2022 confirmed that all of the participants could recall seeing a gambling advertisement or having seen such inducement materials since childhood.

The most common type of ads that they have seen has been the sports betting ones that are usually available on TV. The report simply stated:

During adolescence, exposure to online advertising was described in all gambling groups as frequent and pervasive, especially during participants’ online gaming sessions and in their social media.

NSW Youth Gambling Study 2022

Then, when it came to digital advertising, YouTube seemed to have the strongest exposure of young children to gambling advertisements. Sponsored content by online influencers is one of the main ways how young people and children are exposed to this type of content, usually in ads before the actual content continues – for those who do not use tools that allow them to block advertisements.

The report has also quoted children who confirmed that they were definitely exposed to and aware of gambling products and the advertisements that were spread across social media and TV, and often – in physical spaces. The report also said that there is a great need for tighter regulation of gambling and how the advertisement is regulated in the country.

The second report in question was the one called The Role of Parents in Youth Gambling, which focused on how parents’ behavior could impact adolescents. For example, out of those people who gambled and were parents, 70% did so in the presence of their adolescent children.

Leveraging the Findings to Better Children Protection

This too is seen as a largely adverse factor as it exposes children to gambling and may push them into gambling later in adulthood when they have access to products. The legal prohibition has not stopped some teenagers who have been able to gamble, however, with a fair number of survey respondents confirming that they had wagered on various products, most commonly instant scratch tickets.

The findings have been scrutinized by the government and NSW minister for gaming and racing David Harris who said that both surveys would be taken into consideration in drafting new laws and boosting education and awareness strategies.