The use of different qualitative methodologies in analysing online sports betting adverts

Over the last decade, the amount of gambling advertising has increased substantially both in the UK and elsewhere in the world. One growing area of research in the gambling studies field concerns the content of gambling advertisements (henceforth 'adverts') and how the narrative strategies used by the advertising industry may influence individuals to gamble on their products. This case study examines research we have carried out into the potential psychosocial impact and narratives of online sports betting adverts. This involved the analysis of 135 online sports betting adverts collected over a two-year period. The case study highlights a number of different ways in which the data were analysed to provide new insights in an area with few published studies. The types of data analysis that were employed by the research team included (i) content analysis, (ii) grounded theory analysis, and (iii) conceptual metaphor analysis

Betting, forex trading, and fantasy gaming sponsorships — a responsible marketing inquiry into the 'gamblification' of English football

Environmental stimuli in the form of marketing inducements to gamble money on sports have increased in recent years. The purpose of the present paper is to tackle the extended definition of the gamblification of sport using sponsorship and partnership deals of gambling, forex trading, and fantasy gaming as a proxy for assessing its environmental impact. Using data about sponsorship deals from English Football Premier League, the paper builds on the evidence of English football’s gamblification process to discuss the impact that the volume, penetration, and marketing strategies of sports betting might have on public health and well-being. Findings demonstrate that gambling marketing has become firmly embedded in the financial practices of many Premiership football clubs. It is argued that such associations are not trivial, and that the symbolic linkage of sport and newer gambling forms can become an issue of public health, especially affecting vulnerable groups such as minors and problem gamblers. The present study is the first to explore in-depth the relationship and potential consequences and psychosocial impacts of sports-related marketing, particularly in relation to football

Understanding the convergence of online sports betting markets

Betting on sports via online platforms has rapidly become a popular form of gambling in many countries. Despite the growing body of research investigating the psychosocial and individual psychological factors determining gambling behaviour, much less attention has been devoted to understanding the market characteristics of online sports betting and its intersection with products from adjacent industries. From an economic convergence perspective, the present paper explores the integration of online sports betting within the digital, sporting and gambling sectors, examining how data markets, eSports, virtual sports, social gaming, immersive reality tools, sports media, sport sponsorship, fantasy sports, in-venue and in-stadium betting, poker and trading are all converging around betting activity. Through this convergence process, it is argued that internet-based sports gambling is colonizing different forms of entertainment, and expanding marketing opportunities, as well as raising psychosocial concerns about the influence of such an integration process.</jats:p

Spanish validation of the Problem Gambling Severity Index: a confirmatory factor analysis with sports bettors

Background and aim: The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) is one of the most widely used screening tools for problem gambling. However, no empirically validated adaptation of the instrument to Spanish-speaking countries exists to date. Methods: A sample of 659 sports bettors (Mage: 35.1 years, SD=10.12; 74.2% males) was recruited via an online research panel. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was run to confirm its construct validity. The participants were administered the Spanish version of the PGSI, along with the adaptation to Spanish of the DSM-IV problem gambling instrument for convergent validity. Results: The CFA of the Spanish PGSI showed satisfactory construct validity. The internal consistency (αordinal=.97), as well as its convergent validity with the DSM-IV scores (r=.77, p<.001) was good. Conclusion: The Spanish adaptation of the PGSI offers satisfactory validity and reliability properties, and is a good psychometric instrument for exploring the social consequences of problem gambling in Spanish-speaking contexts

Internet-based structural characteristics of sports betting and problem gambling severity: is there a relationship?

With the adoption and popularization of internet-based platforms, sports betting has introduced new functionalities that transform the design of its products and therefore the way bettors interact with them. This study aims to explore the association between the use of new structural characteristics of online betting and gambling severity. Five characteristics are examined here: (i) live in-play betting; (ii) cash out feature use (as example of in-play betting in-built features); (iii) fantasy sports gaming; (iv) location of betting; and (v) device or platform used to make bets. A cohort (N = 659) of Spanish gamblers who had bet on sports during the previous year was recruited through an online survey. The results suggested that those bettors scoring higher on gambling problems also utilized more often such new structural characteristics, in a proportion not explained only by their higher overall gambling activity. Mobile betting was especially frequent among problem gamblers

Can positive social perception and reduced stigma be a problem in sports betting? A qualitative focus group study with Spanish sports bettors undergoing treatment for gambling disorder

The way society perceives problem gambling, and its effects on how problem gamblers perceive themselves have significant consequences on the wellbeing of people experiencing gambling disorder. Associated with social perception, stigma and other social perception-related features have an impact on the way problem gamblers identify themselves, seek for help, and recover. However, not all gambling types are identically perceived by the society. The present paper examines the case of the social perception of sports betting in the context of Spain. A total of 43 male sports bettors undergoing treatment for gambling disorder were interviewed within seven focus group discussions. Using a qualitative thematic analysis technique, participants reported two fundamental characteristics of sports betting social perception: (i) the absence of negative connotations associated with sports betting comparative to other gambling forms; and (ii) the presence of positive connotations that sanitised sports betting as a harmless practice. The study reports aspects such as the lack of stereotypes, the low-involvement of betting as a product, the novelty of online sports betting, the social construction of the normal bettor, and the workplace gambling normalisation as elements that could lead to an increase in gambling-related harm. This is the first study to explore the social perception of sports betting in a subgroup of problem sports bettors and suggests that policymakers should be cognizant of these perceptions in order to inform responsible gambling regulation

Controlling the illusion of control: a grounded theory of sports betting advertising in the UK

Sports betting (SB) advertising has arguably permeated contemporary sport consumption in many countries. SB adverts build narratives that represent situations and characters that normalise betting behaviour, and raise public concerns regarding their detrimental effect on vulnerable groups. Adopting a grounded theory approach, the present study examined a British sample of SB adverts (N=102) from 2014 to 2016. The analysis revealed that individual themes aligned in a single core narrative, constructing a dual persuasive strategy of SB advertising: (i) to reduce the perceived risk involved in betting (with themes such as betting with betting with friends, free money offers, humour, or the use of celebrities) while (ii) enhancing the perceived control of bettors (including themes of masculinity, and sport knowledge). Also, new technological features of SB platforms (e.g. live betting or cash outs) were used by adverts to build a narrative in which the ability to predict a sport outcome was overlapped by the ability of bettors to use those platforms, equalising the ease of betting with the ease of winning. Based on the data analysed, it is concluded that the construction of a magnified idea of control in SB advertising is a cause for concern requiring close regulatory scrutiny

A content analysis of how 'normal' sports betting behaviour is represented in gambling advertising

The pervasiveness of sports betting marketing and advertising is arguably normalising betting behaviour among increasingly larger groups of population. In their adverts, bookmakers represent characters and situations that conventionalise betting and promote specific behaviours while ignoring others. The present study examined a sample of British and Spanish sports betting television adverts (N=135) from 2014 to 2016 to understand how bettors and betting are being represented. Using content analysis, 31 different variables grouped into seven broad categories were assessed, including general information about the advert, the characters and situations represented, the identification of the characters with sports, the use of online betting, the co-representation of gambling along other risky behaviours such as eating junk food and drinking alcohol, the amount of money wagered, and other variables such as the representation of free bets, humour, and celebrities. The results showed a male-dominant betting representation with no interaction between women. Typically, bettors were depicted surrounded by people but isolated in their betting, emphasizing the individual consumption practice that mobile betting promotes. In-play betting was observed in almost half of the adverts. A little empirical evidence indicates that betting while watching sport in betting adverts is associated with emotionally charged situations such as celebrations and/or alcohol drinking. Bettors were typically depicted staking small amounts of money with large potential returns, implying high risk bets. Overall, the study provides preliminary evidence in understanding the social representation of betting behaviour by bookmakers and critiques the problematic consequences of such representation from a public health perspective