Greetings from the southern France where I spent a couple of weeks
holidaying. It was interesting to see how sports betting was marketed
in the French media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Both locals and
tourists gathered in bars and restaurants to watch the matches from big
TV screens. One evening I was having dinner at Le Martina. I was seated
in a way that I could see the TV screen even though I had not come to
the restaurant to watch the match.
All the advertisements showed before, during and after the match
were about sports betting. One particular advertisement caught
my eye. It addresses underage gambling. In this FDJ (La Française des Jeux)
advertisement, a young looking man wants to place a bet, but the
owner of the bar refuses to take his bet. He then asks some adult
customers to place his bet for him: they refuse and
he is told that he hasn't got the age to bet. Finally, the young man
is seen to play football with the betting slip.
The restaurant, which showed the match, had children as customers
and more children came to watch the match from the surrounding
restaurants. How is it possible to prevent underage gambling if young people
learn from TV that football and betting are two things related to each other?
I understand that for a commercial TV channel advertisements are an
important source of income, but one advertisement that reminds of
age limits is not enough. It is important that gambling operators recognise
that major sports events are watched in families where minors can learn to
gamble by following the example of a parent or a relative. Young
people may also find sports betting advertisements appealing to them.
Youngsters are also very capable of initiating one other into gambling.
There are online videos made to minors who wish to bet despite the age limits.
One video starts with a sports betting tutorial: a French speaking boy
explains how to bet on one's smart phone and how to place the bet in a French
"bar tabac". According to this boy, a minor can succeed in this if he is in
the company of an adult or an older looking friend or cousin. In another
video, the author tells about online betting sites where the gambler's age is
not verified.
Gambling authorities should take a stand on these video tutorials in order to
prevent underage gambling. FDJ's advertisement tackles quite well the issue of
underage gambling by reminding adults not to help youngsters to gamble.
Nevertheless, sports betting is a global mobile phenomenon. If young adult males
bet on their smart phones (e.g. Deans 2017), who can stop underage
(almost 18 year-old) youth from downloading a sports betting app to
their smart phone? Parents, teachers, coaches and youth workers should share
youngsters' passion for football, but they should also be aware of the
appeal of sports betting. The 2018 FIFA World Cup might be over,
but gambling is not.
FDJ's advertisement: "Avant 18 ans, le sport on le vit, le pari on l'oublie" (in French)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEsxe8cQkE
E.G.Deans' PhD thesis on young men's gambling:
http://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30105448
holidaying. It was interesting to see how sports betting was marketed
in the French media during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Both locals and
tourists gathered in bars and restaurants to watch the matches from big
TV screens. One evening I was having dinner at Le Martina. I was seated
in a way that I could see the TV screen even though I had not come to
the restaurant to watch the match.
All the advertisements showed before, during and after the match
were about sports betting. One particular advertisement caught
my eye. It addresses underage gambling. In this FDJ (La Française des Jeux)
advertisement, a young looking man wants to place a bet, but the
owner of the bar refuses to take his bet. He then asks some adult
customers to place his bet for him: they refuse and
he is told that he hasn't got the age to bet. Finally, the young man
is seen to play football with the betting slip.
The restaurant, which showed the match, had children as customers
and more children came to watch the match from the surrounding
restaurants. How is it possible to prevent underage gambling if young people
learn from TV that football and betting are two things related to each other?
I understand that for a commercial TV channel advertisements are an
important source of income, but one advertisement that reminds of
age limits is not enough. It is important that gambling operators recognise
that major sports events are watched in families where minors can learn to
gamble by following the example of a parent or a relative. Young
people may also find sports betting advertisements appealing to them.
Youngsters are also very capable of initiating one other into gambling.
There are online videos made to minors who wish to bet despite the age limits.
One video starts with a sports betting tutorial: a French speaking boy
explains how to bet on one's smart phone and how to place the bet in a French
"bar tabac". According to this boy, a minor can succeed in this if he is in
the company of an adult or an older looking friend or cousin. In another
video, the author tells about online betting sites where the gambler's age is
not verified.
Gambling authorities should take a stand on these video tutorials in order to
prevent underage gambling. FDJ's advertisement tackles quite well the issue of
underage gambling by reminding adults not to help youngsters to gamble.
Nevertheless, sports betting is a global mobile phenomenon. If young adult males
bet on their smart phones (e.g. Deans 2017), who can stop underage
(almost 18 year-old) youth from downloading a sports betting app to
their smart phone? Parents, teachers, coaches and youth workers should share
youngsters' passion for football, but they should also be aware of the
appeal of sports betting. The 2018 FIFA World Cup might be over,
but gambling is not.
FDJ's advertisement: "Avant 18 ans, le sport on le vit, le pari on l'oublie" (in French)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEsxe8cQkE
E.G.Deans' PhD thesis on young men's gambling:
http://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30105448
