GambleAware is calling for more regulation of gambling advertising as it releases a new research report showing how gambling affects the lives of children and young people.
The report found that gambling was understood to be a normal part of everyday life, and children described it as a part of their experience of growing up. Gambling content was seen with things such as horse racing, scratch cards and the National Lottery, while content that felt like gambling was seen in online games with gambling-like features such as loot boxes. The bright, loud and eye-catching nature of gambling adverts drew children and young people in, and many reported that gambling could look like gaming and vice versa, and the look and feel of the two worlds felt interchangeable.
The report also shows how the risks of online gambling are not understood by children due to the blurred lines between gambling and gambling-like activity such as loot boxes in games.