Gambling advertisements are increasingly finding their way to Australia's young audiences through the Snapchat messaging app, raising significant concerns among parents, politicians, and public health experts. An exclusive report by Guardian Australia revealed how sports betting giant Sportsbet has been using special promotional filters, which are directly accessible to children and teens, to reach out to potential customers. This situation has emerged just one week after Sportsbet withdrew ads from Spotify following complaints about them being played between popular children's songs, highlighting the alarming trend of gambling promotions targeting minors.
The issue has come to the forefront as children as young as 13 can inadvertently be exposed to gambling-related content through Snapchat. This occurs particularly when users above the age of 18 share these promotional filters with their friends, as the ads can pop up on the friends' timelines or stories. The filters themselves contain Sportsbet logos and often link to gambling account registrations, featuring eye-catching graphics such as transforming users' faces to resemble racehorses adorned with branding from the betting company.
Interestingly, Snapchat claims to have stringent advertising policies aimed at preventing underage users from seeing gambling ads. These ads are theoretically restricted to those aged 18 and above. A spokesperson for Snapchat stated, “Our advertising policies restrict ads based on users’ age for certain regulated categories, including gambling, which must be targeted to users aged 18+ in Australia.” Nevertheless, the efficacy of these measures is being called seriously to question.
A recent exploration revealed many underage users have manipulated their profiles to access these filters, with reports indicating about 22% of eight to seventeen-year-olds admitted to providing false birth dates to evade age restrictions. The social media platform, Snapchat, is expected to take full responsibility, leveraging sophisticated tools to target ads accurately. This situation has triggered calls for Australian lawmakers to step up the fight against gambling ads, particularly those reaching impressionable young audiences.
Simone McCarthy, a research fellow from Deakin University, expressed grave concern over this trend, stating, “This constant stream of positive messaging around gambling, a product which carries significant risks, reaching young people is really troubling.” She pointed out the gambling industry's tendency to target their promotions at 18-21-year-olds, labelling them as core customers, with the aim of hooking them early.
Independent senator David Pocock raised similar concerns, questioning whether enough is being done to shield children from gambling content. He pointed out the contradiction between Sportsbet's assertion of only targeting adult audiences and the undeniable evidence of children still encountering the company's ads through Snapchat filters. According to Pocock, this raises serious questions about the platforms used and the advertised content's accessibility to younger demographics.
The alarming situation has caught the attention of politicians who are rallying for more stringent regulations. Legislators are urging the federal government to heed the recommendations put forward by a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry almost 18 months ago, which suggested a complete ban on gambling advertisements. This inquiry called for urgent action, particularly as the exposure to gambling-related content can have long-lasting ramifications on youth behavior and attitudes toward betting.
Even though Sportsbet initially hesitated to engage with Snapchat for advertising due to concerns of minors seeing their promotions, this caution appears to be faded away. The company's chief executive officer, Barni Evans, revealed during a parliamentary inquiry last year, “My team refused to engage in commercial partnership with Snapchat for… two years whilst our competitors carried on because we weren’t convinced… Snapchat had the reliable age-gaiting technology.” Such comments underline the need for social media platforms to bolster their age-verification technologies.
Despite acknowledging the risk factors involved, Sportsbet has yet to retract their promotional initiatives, which still remain on Snapchat. Such practices have drawn wider scrutiny, particularly because gambling companies view fast-moving social media landscapes as key to capturing potential customers who may be more vulnerable.
The fact remains; the nocturnal rise of gambling ads aimed at children through platforms like Snapchat points to urgent lapses within the industry and the regulators who should oversee it. The call for tougher restrictions can't just be ignored, as the health and safety of future generations hang delicately within such environments.