Social media marketing and gambling: An interview study of gambling operators in Australia

Abstract

Social media has become an established tool to engage and maintain customer loyalty. However, its successful use involves a balance between promotion, public relations and corporate social responsibility. Nineteen individuals working in the Australian gambling industry were interviewed. The aim was to explore how gambling operators are using social media to engage with users and promote products, their considerations underpinning these actions, and the extent to which responsible gambling practices are included. All operators were active on social media and used these platforms to attempt to increase customer engagement and strengthen existing relationships. Gambling-related content was usually balanced against non-gambling content, or operators focused exclusively on non-gambling content. Sales goals or raising revenue were not direct aims of social media use. Operators sought to use social media as an indirect way to maintain their customer base and attract new customers via favourable ratings and information transfer. Few operators provided specific responsible gambling messages, despite being mindful of the dangers of targeting vulnerable populations, specifically young people and problem gamblers. This study is unique as it provides an in-depth first-hand account of how gambling operators are using social media.

Keywords::

• marketing
• gambling industry
• advertising
• Internet
• social media

Notes

^1. Note that one of the wagering providers interviewed also operates lotteries

^2. In Internet slang, a troll is a person who interrupts communications, often with threats and personal abuse (Shin, 2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sally M. Gainsbury

Sally Gainsbury is a clinical psychologist whose research into gambling has covered the areas of responsible gambling strategies, electronic gaming machines, warning signs, Internet gambling and online treatment options. She is the editor of International Gambling Studies.

Daniel L. King

Daniel King is a senior research associate and clinical psychology registrar in the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide. His primary research expertise is technology-based problems, with a specific focus on digital gambling, social media and video-gaming.

Nerilee Hing

Nerilee Hing is the founding director of Southern Cross University's Centre for Gambling Education and Research. Her research interests include problem gambling, responsible gambling, gambling amongst vulnerable populations, impacts of gambling, help-seeking for gambling problems, and gambling and new technologies.

Paul Delfabbro

Paul Delfabbro is an associate professor based at the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide where he lectures in learning theory and advanced methodology and statistics. He is the author of over 200 reports and papers in various areas of social policy, including gambling and child protection, and has completed numerous research projects for state and federal government departments. In the area of gambling, he has undertaken studies in the prevalence of gambling in adult and adolescent populations, experimental studies of gambling behaviour and analyses of the effectiveness of harm-minimization strategies.