Young people and gambling related influencer content

Digital advances have made gambling increasingly accessible to children and young people in the UK, with the rapid expansion of the online gambling market exposing them to gambling products, services and materials they would not otherwise be able to access.

The UK Gambling Commission’s research shows that exposure to gambling at an early age is more likely to result in children and young people displaying what would be considered problematic gambling behaviour (when recognised screening tools are applied) later in life. 

This is in part due to the integration of gambling into sports and other forms of entertainment, contributing to a ​‘normalisation of gambling’ that presents it as a routine, low-risk and acceptable activity.

GambleAware commissioned Social Finance, in collaboration with Bournemouth University, University of Sussex, GamCare and Ygam, to examine how children and young people experience, interpret, and are affected by, gambling-related influencer content in digital spaces.

We carried out a mixed methods approach, including a literature review, content analysis, a survey, and participatory qualitative research with children and young people over 18 months.

Our research revealed that children and young people are the target of highly persuasive techniques deployed by digital platforms, gambling operators, content creators, advertisers and influencers.

In addition, young people told us they feel out of control over the amount of gambling content they see and that the divisions between advertising and what they perceive to be entertainment are difficult to navigate. 

Also while they express a desire to be protected, children and young people also want to be free to find their own way in digital spaces.