Young men are more likely to report gambling and problem gambling compared to other groups. Gambling advertising may play a role, given its effects on gambling attitudes, intentions, and behaviours. Gambling advertising is also embedded in sports culture. However, it is unknown if gambling ads are targeted towards young men.
In the current study, the researchers examined 411 gambling advertisements posted by licensed online gambling operators in Ireland. The data were obtained from the Meta Ad library. The researchers looked at the target audience of these ads alongside their reach.
Men were the target audience of 22% of the advertisements, with no ads specifically targeting women. A total of 18,389,653 accounts were reached by these advertisements, with the highest reach among young people aged 25 to 34 years. Moreover, gambling advertisements reached 2.3 more men than women.
