In a recent study published in the Journal of Public Health, Dr. Darragh McGee of the University of Bath in England said policymakers need to understand that the explosive growth of online sports betting in the past few years has had a negative impact on the lives of young adult men.
McGee said his study showed a “gamblification of sports,” meaning new mobile apps and loosening regulations regarding sports advertising add up to broader appeal and easier entry to sports betting. Sports wagering now is considered something for fans to “enjoy” as much as watching the games, he said.
For the study, McGee interviewed 32 men aged 18-35 who engaged in online betting at varying degrees; they also kept 30-day gambling journals and participated in focus groups. He said the study “clearly highlights how the exponential growth of online sports gambling has wider social, economic and public health impacts beyond young men’s leisure activities, with revealing and distressing insights from those involved in online gambling on a daily basis.”
He noted sports betting has broken records since live sports resumed after temporarily stopping due to Covid-19. “The record-breaking viewing figures since the resumption of live sport in recent weeks may well have exacerbated its detrimental impacts for many young men,” McGee noted, adding, “We urgently need to reframe debates around sports gambling, to recognize it as a public health issue that holds significant implications for individual, family and community well-being.”
McGee said his study indicated the “facelessness” of sports gambling platforms via mobile apps, versus placing a bet with a bookie or at a betting shop, also has increased the interest in online betting. In addition, “free bet” incentives and in-play promotions have attracted more young men to online sports betting, McGee stated. As a result, he said, online sports gambling often leads to financial precarity, indebtedness, mortgage defaults, job loss, mental health issues and family breakdowns.
McGee said recent initiatives, like the ban on advertising during sports broadcasts, are helpful. However, he noted, “It is paramount that reformatory interventions are developed independently of those companies or organizations who hold a commercial interest in the promotion of gambling products. Greater accountability should also be asked of key stakeholders within sport, including clubs, athletes, league associations and event organizers who benefit from revenue streams provided by gambling operators without due consideration for the public health implications on their fan base.”
McGee recently launched a new study of the increasingly global nature of the sports gambling market, funded under the British Academy and Global Challenges Research Fund Youth Futures program.
