Ministry of Health NZ



FACT SHEET - Major findings – Research examining the Impact of Marketing, Advertising and Sponsorship on Gambling behaviour

Overview

In 2010 and 2011, a major study was conducted to examine the marketing, advertising and sponsorship of gambling products and services within New Zealand. Undertaken by Schottler Consulting Pty Ltd for the Ministry of Health, this exploratory study was one of the first studies in the world to comprehensively explore the potential effects of marketing and advertising on public perceptions of the attractiveness of gambling products and services.

Specific types of gambling marketing and advertising examined in the study included the effects of gaming lounge signage (outside gambling venues), the effects of lottery/scratch ticket advertising (including ‘Must be Won’ promotions), the effects of TAB advertising, the effects of casino advertising and the link between gaming trust branding and consumer perceptions of the attractiveness of gambling was also investigated.

Methodology

The study was primarily a qualitative study. The methodology, however, included:

• A literature review on the marketing, advertising and sponsorship of gambling products and services

• A global scan of guidelines and codes relating to gambling and general marketing and advertising

(including a scan of codes in Asian and Pacific nations)

• Conduct of 11 focus groups with gamblers to explore the effects of gambling marketing and advertising

(including review of New Zealand gambling advertising materials in groups to stimulate discussion)

• Conduct of a quantitative survey of 400 gamblers using an online research panel to further explore the effects of gambling marketing and advertising in a convenience sample of non-problem and at-risk gamblers

(This also included sampling of New Zealand Europeans, Maori, Pacific Islander and Asian gamblers)

Issues examined in the study

In recognition of the limited research conducted on the topic of marketing, advertising and sponsorship of gambling products and services, the Ministry of Health develop a range of broad research questions, whilst recognising that not all questions could be answered in a single study. Specific areas of enquiry, which formed a focus for the current study, included the following key research topics:

← The relationship between awareness of gambling marketing and advertising and gambling behaviour

← The impacts of gambling marketing and advertising on public views and attitudes about gambling

← The types of gambling marketing and advertising with potential to cause consumer harm

← The special impacts of large scale lotto jackpots including ‘Must Be Won’ (and similar) promotions

← Public views on the acceptability and impacts of gambling advertising which targets specific cultures

← The types of marketing and advertising activities which may create ‘safer’ gambling environments

← International guidelines and codes highlighting ‘good practice’ in the advertising and marketing of gambling

For the purpose of the study, marketing, advertising and sponsorship of gambling was defined to include any promotional activities that may be utilised to sell or raise awareness of gambling products and services.

Major STUDY findings

What effect does advertising, marketing and sponsorship have on gambling spending?

While the influence of advertising on participation was not directly measured in the study, the influence of advertising on gamblers spending more than they wanted to on gambling activities was examined. For New Zealand gamblers overall, results showed that most forms of gambling advertising had only a relatively conservative influence on gamblers spending more than they wanted to on gambling.

While all effects were relatively small, casino advertising was reported to have the largest effect, followed by lotto advertising and pokies advertising (pokies signage). In comparison, scratch ticket and TAB advertising had the lowest overall level of influence. Overall results are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1. Frequency of viewing gambling advertising and the influence of gambling advertising on gambler spending –

weighted overall results (February-April 2011)

|Gambling activity |Base |Frequency of viewing |Base |Influence of advertising on the |

| | |advertising | |gambler spending more than they |

| | |(1=not at all, | |wanted to spend on gambling |

| | |5=very frequently) | |(1=not at all, 4=significant |

| | | | |influence) |

|Casino advertising |Casino |2.7 |Casino |1.5 |

| |gamblers | |gamblers | |

| |(N=217) | |(N=217) | |

|Instant Kiwi advertising |Scratch ticket |2.7 |Scratch ticket |1.1 |

| |players (N=319) | |players (N=319) | |

|Pokies advertising signage |Club/pub |2.1 |Pub/club/casino |1.2 |

| |pokies players | |pokies players | |

| |(N=194) | |(N=239) | |

|Question: How often have you seen the following types of advertising in the past 12 months? (1=not at all, 5=very frequently). If any, |

|how much influence do you feel that this gambling advertising had on you spending more than you wanted to spend in the past 12 mths? |

Is there a relationship between gambler awareness of advertising and problem gambling?

Findings of research highlight that participating in a gambling activity may ‘prime’ gamblers to be more aware of gambling advertising. Supporting this, results of the survey of gamblers showed that respondents participating in a gambling activity reported seeing gambling advertising significantly more frequently than those who did not participate in the activity. Qualitative research also supported this trend – e.g., You have to be interested in gambling to see the ads. If you don’t do TAB, you don’t tend to notice the ads.

In addition, a relationship between awareness and risk for problem gambling was identified. While the direction of effects cannot of course be determined, based on players participating in the gambling activity, findings showed that:

• moderate risk and problem gamblers reported seeing pokies venue signage more frequently than low risk gamblers (p ................
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