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Brand Knowledge, Similarity to Story Characters and Perceived Influence of Gambling Advertising Among Spanish Sports Bettors: a Survey Study

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Abstract

The saturation of advertising stimuli to gamble has become a major source of concern in many countries, especially when it comes to sports betting. Despite the growth of advertising restrictions, very few evidence-based recommendations are readily available for policymakers. Furthermore, advertising is a cultural construct, and country-specific studies are needed to address the singularities of each market. The present paper provides empirical evidence concerning the impact of advertising gathered from a survey-based research with Spanish sports bettors (N = 659). The results indicate that those gamblers experiencing more severe gambling problems also report higher knowledge of bookmakers’ brands, higher similarity to the main story characters in sports betting advertisements and a higher perceived influence of advertising on their behaviour. The results also found no differences between age and gender in terms of advertising impact. These findings will help inform Spanish regulation that seeks to reduce the negative effects of advertising.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Government of the Basque Country, Spain, under grant reference (Eusko Jaurlaritza, POS_2015_1_0062). This work has been additionally funded by the Spanish Organization of the Blind (ONCE, III International Award).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, University of Deusto, Av. de las Universidades, 24, 48007, Bilbao, Spain

    Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez

  2. International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England

    Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez & Mark D. Griffiths

Authors
  1. Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez
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  2. Mark D. Griffiths
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Correspondence to Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez.

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Conflict of Interest

Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez declares that he has no conflict of interest. Mark D. Griffiths declares that he has received funding for a number of research projects in the area of gambling education for young people, social responsibility in gambling and gambling treatment from the Responsibility in Gambling Trust, a charitable body which funds its research program based on donations from the gambling industry. He also undertakes consultancy for various gaming companies in the area of social responsibility in gambling.

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Lopez-Gonzalez, H., Griffiths, M.D. Brand Knowledge, Similarity to Story Characters and Perceived Influence of Gambling Advertising Among Spanish Sports Bettors: a Survey Study. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 134–142 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00142-w

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