Gambling can lead to psychological and financial problems, especially among vulnerable groups such as (former) gambling addicts, minors, young adults and people with a lower socio-economic status. That was the reason for the Dutch government to put limits on advertisements for online gambling - "untargeted" advertising via, for example, TV, radio and in public spaces has been prohibited since July 1 last year. Online marketing via social media is still permitted, as is sports sponsorship - think of football clubs such as Ajax and PSV, which are sponsored by Unibet and TOTO respectively.

Do advertisements lead to more gambling and social acceptance?

Particularly online, companies are still allowed to do a lot when it comes to advertising. “What we would like to know is to what extent these targeted advertisements reach vulnerable groups and what that does to their gambling behavior,” says Hilde Voorveld. Her colleague Eva van Reijmersdal adds: 'We investigate which claims gambling companies make and which specific statements lead to (more) gambling. We are also curious whether advertisements ensure that gambling becomes more socially accepted.'

150 participants

Voorveld and Van Reijmersdal want no fewer than 150 people from vulnerable groups to participate in their research. They approach them through addiction care institutions such as Jellinek and the Trimbos Institute, but also through schools. 'A postdoc focuses specifically on schools and young people. We also work closely with someone who supports gambling addicts. Our colleague Merel Walraven is also involved in the project. In addition to her work as a teacher, she works one day a week at the Kansspelautoriteit (the independent administrative body and the supervisor and regulator of gambling services) as a researcher and advisor in the field of sports marketing.'

Data donation and screenshots provide information about advertising tactics

The classic way to conduct this type of research is interviews. Participants talk about what they see and what their reaction to it is. Voorveld: 'Although they certainly provide valuable information - we certainly use them in our research - we also know that self-reporting is not always very reliable. That is why we also work with data donation, whereby participants donate their social media data for a certain period. We also use experience sampling: people upload screenshots of gambling advertisements that they encounter online. This way we can determine which tactics gambling companies use in their advertisements.'

Immediate and long-term consequences

The ultimate goal is to provide a complete overview of all marketing communication techniques used by gambling companies and link them to direct and long-term consequences in the field of gambling behavior and attitudes towards gambling.

The project will last two years. In addition to Voorveld, Van Reijmersdal and Walraven, two postdocs are also involved in the research: Lauranna Teunissen and Priska Breves.

This article has been translated by Google Translate