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What we Know About the Impact of Advertising on Disordered Gambling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Simon Planzer  and
Heather Wardle
Simon Planzer
Affiliation:
University of St. Gallen HSG, Zurich
Heather Wardle
Affiliation:
NatCen Social Research (London) and University of Glasgow,
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Abstract

Towards the end of 2011, the (then) Responsible Gambling Fund published a report which, inter alia, offers an overview of the research gaps in relation to the impact of advertising on disordered gambling. In this article, the authors of the report summarise their main findings. They conclude that evaluating the impact of gambling advertising is highly complex. Nonetheless, advertising forms an important component of the broader environment in which behaviour and attitudes are shaped. The empirical evidence base is weak and therefore conclusions about whether gambling advertising is associated with increased levels of disordered gambling cannot be drawn. However, there is some evidence that advertising alters perceptions and attitudes towards gambling. Yet, evidence demonstrating translation of this into behavioural change is weak. Particular attention should be given to vulnerable population groups such as adolescents and disordered gamblers. In view of further research, a set of recommendations is provided.

Type
Reports
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 588 - 594
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

1 <http://www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk> (last accessed on 5 November 2012).

2 Planzer, Simon and Wardle, Heather, “What We Know about the Comparative Effectiveness of Gambling Regulation”, 3(3) European Journal of Risk Regulation (2012), pp. 410–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3 Disordered gambling is a term that encompasses the full range of gambling-related problems, from the severe form (‘pathological gambling’) that meets the diagnostic criteria in DSM-IV-TR to less severe, sub-clinical forms (‘problem gambling’). A fully developed addiction to games of chance is generally associated with ‘pathological gambling’ ( Shaffer, Hall and Bilt, Vander, “Estimating the prevalence of disordered gambling behavior in the United States and Canada: A research synthesis”, 89(9) American Journal of Public Health (1999), pp. 1369–76).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

4 The present article is a summarised and adjusted version of the original report: Simon Planzer and Heather Wardle, “The Comparative Effectiveness of Regulatory Approaches and The Impact of Advertising on Propensity for Problem Gambling”, Report prepared for the Responsible Gambling Fund, London 2011. Among other aspects, comments specifi c to the UK are not considered in this article. The full report is available online at <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2045052> as well as <http://www.planzer-law.com> (last accessed on 5 November 2012). The research for the report was fi nancially supported by the RGF. The authors do not have personal interests in the RGF nor the RGT that would suggest a confl ict of interest.

5 This is a recognised assessment methodology recommended by the British Government Social Research Unit.

6 To illustrate these different levels of regulation: Operators advertising their gambling services in Great Britain are subject to the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (‘CAP Code’) and the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (‘BCAP Code’). These codes are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (‘ASA’). In addition, the gambling industry established its own Gambling Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising; its provisions are not legally binding. However, according to the Code, the British government explicitly reserves the right to make legally binding advertising requirements going beyond those enshrined in the Code, should the industry not satisfactorily address the advertising issues. The aforementioned codes are available at <http://www.cap.org.uk> and <http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/Industry%20code%20of%20practice%20-%20August%202007.pdf> (last accessed on 5 November 2012).

7 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Unfair Commercial Practices Directive’), OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, pp. 22–39.

8 Commission Staff Working Paper: Accompanying document to the Green Paper on on-line gambling in the Internal Market, COM(2011) 128, SEC(2011) 321, p. 13.

9 Commission Communication: Towards a comprehensive European framework for online gambling, COM(2012) 596/3, provisional version, published on 23 October 2012, p. 12.

10 Binde, Per, “Selling Dreams – Causing Nightmares? On Gambling Advertising and Problem Gambling”, 20 Journal of Gambling Issues (2007), pp. 167–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

11 Bass, Frank, “A simultaneous equation regression study of advertising and sales of cigarettes”, 6(3) Journal of Marketing Research (1969), pp. 291–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

12 This relates to Total Consumption Theory whereby it is argued that an increase in availability of gambling among a population leads to increases in gambling behaviour and increases in disordered gambling. Advertising can be seen as part of this process by highlighting increased availability of a range of products, see Orford, Jim, An Unsafe Bet: The Dangerous Rise of Gambling and the Debate we Should Be Having (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

13 Exposure theory argues that an increase of an environmental toxin (e.g., increased availability of gambling) leads to a proportionate increase of adverse reactions (e.g., disordered gambling) within the population (dose-response relationship). Adaptation theory postulates that new environmental factors (e.g., gambling offers) may initially lead to an increase of adverse reactions (e.g., disordered gambling); over time, however, individuals manage to adapt and the adverse reactions decrease in the population ( LaPlante, Debi and Shaffer, Howard, “Understanding the Influence of Gambling Opportunities: Expanding Exposure Models to Include Adaptation”, 77(4) American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (2007), pp. 616–623 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed). This article cannot further inquire into the complex fi eld of exposure model versus adaptation model and the relevant numerous prevalence studies.

14 Binde, Per, “Exploring the Impact of Gambling Advertising: An Interview Study of Problem Gamblers”, 7 International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (2009), pp. 541–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

15 Derevensky, J, Sklar, A, Gupta, R, Messerlian, C. “An Empirical Study Examining the Impact of Gambling Advertisements on Adolescent Gambling Attitudes and Behaviours” 8 International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (2010), pp. 21–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

16 Lee, Hung-Seok, Lemanski, Jennifer and Jun, Jong Woo, “Role of Gambling Media Exposure in Influencing Trajectories among College Students”, 24 Journal of Gambling Studies (2008), pp. 25–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

17 See the full report for a broader discussion of the potential limitations of this study. Simon Planzer and Heather Wardle, “The Comparative Effectiveness of Regulatory Approaches and The Impact of Advertising on Propensity for Problem Gambling”, supra note 4.

18 Monaghan, Sally, Derevensky, Jeffrey and Sklar, Alyssa, “Impact of Gambling Advertising and Marketing on Children: Policy Recommendations to Minimize Harm”, 22 Journal of Gambling Issues (2008), pp. 252–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

19 McMullan, John L. and Miller, Delthia, “Advertising the ‘New Funtier’: Selling Casinos to the Consumer”, 8 International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (2010), pp. 35–50 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; McMullan J, John L. and Miller, Delthia, “All in! The Commercial Advertising of Offshore Gambling on Television”, 22 Journal of Gambling Issues (2008), pp. 230–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

20 The European Commission too seems to recognise the relevance of gambling advertising and its impact on consumers in its recent Communication: Commission Communication: Towards a comprehensive European framework for online gambling, supra note 9.

21 For the full list of recommendations, see Planzer and Wardle, “The Comparative Effectiveness of Regulatory Approaches and The Impact of Advertising on Propensity for Problem Gambling”, supra note 4.

22 Though some caution should be taken with these comparisons as the nature of products is different. For example, it is widely accepted that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption, which informs a certain type of counter-advertising strategy. The same is not true for gambling.