UK: 10% of teen gamblers influenced by ads
In a new Gambling Commission survey, 10 per cent of teen gamblers claimed to spend more because of ads.
UK.- The Gambling Commission has released details of a new survey that founds that 10 per cent of gamblers aged 16 and 17 said they were influenced by ads. However, respondents were more influenced by friends and family.
The survey was carried out by 2CV among 962 people aged from 16 to 25. Some 644 of the respondents were gamblers, although the classification included “gambling-style” social games, arcade games like claw machines and private bets with friends.
Of the 267 16-17 year-olds among the respondents, 41 per cent said they see “lots” of gambling advertising, and 32 per cent believed gambling businesses advertised more than other businesses. Ten per cent said they spent more money than they intended to because of advertising.
Problem gambling
Using the problem gambling severity index (PGSI), it found that the greatest correlation with the risk of gambling harm in statements about friends gambling, such as “My friends encourage me to gamble more money”, which was most associated with higher levels of risk, and “My friends encourage me to gamble more often”.
The research suggested that family members could be a significant influence on gambling activities. Statements about marketing had a lower correlation with gambling risk levels, apart from those about following a number of gaming operators on social media.
Underage gambling
As for the question of underage gaming, 34 per cent of respondents said they’d played scratchcards before turning 16 (which was the minimum age before Camelot increased the minimum age for National Lottery products to 18). Meanwhile, 15 per cent said they had played National lottery draws.
Some 18 per cent claimed to have played in-person bingo before turning 18, 13 per cent had played fruit or slot machines and 9 per cent each said they played online bingo, online slots or bet on sports.
2CV advised that some respondents were possibly referring to bingo-style games played at school or other non-commercial activities.
Earlier this week, the Gambling Commission’s interim chief executive Andrew Rhodes took to Twitter to defend the regulator’s involvement in the case of Football Index, which entered administration in March.
Gambling Commission delays choice of National Lottery operator
The Gambling Commission has put back the date for a decision on which operator will win the fourth National Lottery licence.
The British regulator was due to announce its selection next month, but has put the date back to February 2022 to give it more time to evaluate bids. It’s also extended current operator Camelot’s licence for another six months to February 2024 to allow time for a “smooth transition”.
