Research highlights risks of social online gaming and transition to real-life gambling

The increasing convergence between online casino gaming and social media could draw problem gamblers and adolescents to real-money gambling, a new report by Southern Cross University’s Centre for Gambling Education and Research has found.

The use of social media in gambling, a report commissioned by Gambling Research Australia, sought to identify the availability of gambling and social casino game opportunities via social media and explore whether there was a transition between social casino game play and gambling.

Lead researcher Dr Sally Gainsbury said as gambling increasingly becomes digital, efforts to minimise harms need to focus on new technologies to protect the next generation of gamblers.

“There are currently few advertising regulations specific to the use of social media by gambling operators, meaning that the use of these platforms is relatively open for interpretation,” Dr Gainsbury said.

“Given that social media is increasingly used to promote gambling brands and products, regulation should specifically outline what should and should not be advertised via these platforms.

“In particular, where possible age restrictions should be put in place to prevent adolescents from seeing gambling promotions on social media, but given the wide use of these platforms by youth this is difficult to control.”

Dr Gainsbury said social casino games had the potential to influence adolescent impressions of gambling and increase gambling behaviour in problem gamblers and youths.

“Most gamblers surveyed did not change their gambling as a result of social media marketing, but 12% of adult gamblers and 10% of adolescents reported an increase in gambling,” she said.

“These were more likely to be younger adults, males, and highly-involved and active gamblers with higher levels of gambling problems.

“One quarter of adult at-risk gamblers and one-third of adolescent at-risk gamblers reported that social media promotions by gambling operators had increased their problems.”

Dr Gainsbury said online casino games available to young people should not contain any links to or advertisements for gambling products and should specify that the games do not accurately depict gambling products, particularly for games operated by companies that also offer gambling products.

She recommended game operators consider introducing the option for players to set limits on how much time and money they spend on gambling games.

“Social casino games and gambling promotions on social media do not impact most people, but those vulnerable to gambling problems need to be very careful as these may create a trigger that encourages them to spend excessive amounts or gamble more,” she said.

"The increased convergence between digital gaming and gambling and the wide use of technology by young people means that regulation, including harm prevention and minimisation efforts, should start to focus on online forms of gambling.”
Photo: Dr Sally Gainsbury