The Responsible Gambling Trust in the UK has published a report on gambling advertising research, authored by me. The report is now online and can be accessed here:
> Gambling advertising: A critical research review
Binde, Per (2014). Gambling advertising: A critical research review. London: The Responsible Gambling Trust.
SUMMARY This report provides a critical review of research on gambling advertising, with particular attention to studies that concern the impact of such advertising on participation in gambling and the prevalence of problem gambling. Methodological issues and the potential of research approaches to produce reliable and meaningful results are discussed, providing a basis for recommendations about future studies. The report has been commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust in the UK and the aim is that the Trust, other organizations and researchers will find the report useful when forming research priorities and planning studies. More generally, the report serves as an introduction to the topic of gambling advertising. It is concluded that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to assess how many people gamble excessively because of direct or indirect influence from advertising. However, the nature and mechanisms of the impact of gambling advertising, as well as other aspects of it – such as its volume and the ethical questions that it raises – are possible to study in a variety of ways. Thus while absolute extent of impact is difficult to assess, it is possible to study the relative impact on various groups of people by different forms of advertising. Such research results are valuable for policy making, regulation and the responsible marketing of gambling as they differentiate between relatively harmless and relatively risky advertising.
