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New Research Reveals Gambling Ads on Social Media More Appealing to Children than Adults
According to a new study conducted at the University of Bristol, gambling advertising on social media is significantly more appealing to children and young people than to adults.
The study findings showed disguised gambling marketing and ads for betting on esports – professional online competing in computer games – were nearly four times more appealing to children than adults. It also revealed nearly half of children are exposed to such advertising weekly and around a quarter encounter it daily.
Whereas results showed the vast majority of adults were wary or annoyed when faced with gambling ads, children mainly reacted positively.
Co-lead investigator Dr Raffaello Rossi, who is conducting first-of-its-kind research into the use and impact of gambling advertising on social media, said: “The overwhelming strong appeal of gambling advertising on social media to children is of huge concern, as it is known the earlier people start gambling the more likely it will become habitual and problematic.
“That’s why there needs to be much stricter and clearer rules in place to clamp down on the issue, which could easily spiral out of control given how long children and young people spend on social media these days. Many of the adverts may look entirely innocent and harmless, but they in fact pose a serious risk of getting a whole new generation of gamblers hooked on a serious addiction which has devastating consequences.”
The report, in light of its findings and previous studies, is calling for:
- Esports gambling advertising, which automatically appeals to children and young people, to be banned.
- Gambling content marketing, which masquerades as something appealing, to be rigorously regulated and informed by what is proven to attract young people.
- Regulators to broaden the age range of a “young person” from 16-17 to 16-24-year-olds.
- Social media platforms to only allow gambling ads on social media when users actively opt-in to receive them.
The report comes as the Gambling Act is currently being reviewed by the government, and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has launched a consultation to better protect children from gambling advertising which appeals to them.
This study surveyed online 210 children aged 11 to 17 years, 222 young people aged 18 to 24, and 221 adults aged 25 to 78 years in the UK from May to July last year.
Esports gambling adverts were also found to be much more appealing to children and young people than adults, who were shown to be four-times more likely to feel extremely negative emotions about the ads than children.
Co-lead investigator Agnes Nairn, Professor of Marketing at the University of Bristol’s School of Management, said: “We know from previous research that children are actively following and engaging with gambling content on social media and regulators are struggling to keep up with this trend. This new research shines a spotlight on two specific types of gambling adverts: content marketing and esports that are strongly and significantly more appealing to children and young people than to older adults.
“Importantly, the current regulations do not address these types of advertising at all. The esports market is forecast to exceed a billion dollars this year. It has an audience of 500 million people, most of them children and young people. The regulations need to be reformed as a matter of urgency.”
The Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM), a leading UK gambling-harm prevention charity, provides a range of education programmes, working with thousands of schools and youth practitioners to help engage with and safeguard future generations against gambling harms.
Kev Clelland, Strategic Alliance Director at YGAM, said: “A key part of our programmes focus on gambling advertising, as well as the growth of esports, and this latest research will further inform our evidence-led resources. The findings support the evidence we submitted to the Gambling Act Review where we called for more to be done to minimise the exposure that children have to gambling advertising. All gambling advertising should be designed and displayed in a way that is appropriate for adults and avoids marketing techniques that appeal to children. There is opportunity to strengthen advertising protections and both the advertisers and the platforms which host adverts should use technology and data to do more.”
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EveryMatrix Press Releases
OddsMatrix announces record performance numbers during 2024/25 football season
OddsMatrix, EveryMatrix’s tier-1 turnkey sportsbook platform and odds feed service, has revealed significant year-on-year growth across its football product during the 2024/25 season, headlined by a rise in player prop betting.
Inclusive of all domestic global club football, major continental championships and international competitions, OddsMatrix delivered an average 2024/25 margin of 11.8%, a sharp increase on 2023/24 performance.
Overall turnover grew 28% season-on-season with volume of football bets placed on the platform surging 34% from 241.5 million in 2023/24 to 324.1 million in 2024/25 as the supplier continued to expand its client network and benefit from existing customer growth.
Demonstrating that behaviours are changing within the football betting community, the steepest season-on-season growth came in player prop betting. Dominated by the Shots on Target and Player to be Booked markets, player prop turnover grew 72% compared to 2023/24 with revenues from the betting type increasing 84% among OddsMatrix’s growing, global client base.
Fuelled by OddsMatrix’s recent integration partnership with Kero Sports and further development of its own in-house prop pricing models, player prop betting growth was further pronounced during the Champions League with shots betting accelerating 158% season-on-season while wagering on assists increased 149% during the 2024/25 continental championship.
The OddsMatrix numbers also point to sustained momentum for the well-established Bet Builder product. Firmly established as a sportsbook essential, the product continues to grow, alongside the award-winning sportsbook revealing a 127% season-on-season rise in Bet Builder turnover – driven by deeper in-house pricing integration.
Last week OddsMatrix was crowned sports betting supplier and sportsbook platform supplier of the year at the EGR B2B Awards 2025, alongside EveryMatrix picking up three major honours including top prize Full service platform of the year.
Tor Skeie, CEO, OddsMatrix, said: “It’s been another memorable club football season, with standout moments from PSG, Liverpool and Napoli. At OddsMatrix, we’re proud to have achieved exceptional year-on-year growth across our core football product metrics.
“In the last 12 months, not only have we rolled out a new proprietary horse racing solution, we’ve worked hard to enhance our football product with broader event coverage, increased in-house pricing, extended market uptime, enriched content, faster settlement, and smarter risk management – demonstrating our continued commitment to strengthening the core of our sportsbook offering.
“These enhancements were instrumental in securing turnkey sportsbook partnerships with several ambitious operators during the 2024/25 season and we look forward to building on this momentum with more innovative product developments lined up for the new 2025/26 campaign.”
The post OddsMatrix announces record performance numbers during 2024/25 football season appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Emerging-markets leader expands its content offering with new games from emerging studio from Hacksaw’s OpenRGS production line
QTech Games, the leading game aggregator for emerging markets, has continued to build the strong momentum in its pipeline, thanks to its latest deal with rising-star supplier, Kitsune Studios, part of the bold OpenRGS studio initiative from Hacksaw Gaming.
Integrating content from such an innovative and well-credentialed studio, founded on Hacksaw’s heritage and expertise, adds yet more creative muscle to QTech Games’ burgeoning platform, which is taking the widest range of online games to emerging territories with established names, such as Playtech and Aviatrix, sitting alongside the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming providers.
The games made available to its partners via the deal include Kitsune’s foundational title, The Library, and its hotly anticipated latest release, Club Cabana.
Kitsune Studios’ designs are premised on play-now vertical screens for optimized gameplay on the go. And while its gaming suite neatly aligns with any device (smartphone, tablet and desktop) it remains mobile-first, a cornerstone of QTech’s proprietary technical platform, affording games providers and operators one of the fastest integration available. Through this aggregation-leading platform, which has sealed its definitive status as a global gaming one-stop shop, clients enjoy the best performance and customer support available, localised to every region across both developing and more mature markets.
The deal organically broadens Manchester-based Kitsune Studios’ international footprint, unlocking untapped jurisdictions for diversified growth from Asia to Africa and Eastern Europe to Latin America, where Kitsune Studios is looking to make a big impression over the coming 12 months.
Philip Doftvik, QTech Games’ CEO, said: “We’re committed to rolling out high-calibre content that drives revenue for our partners. And this deal with Kitsune Studios both extends our impressive sequential pipeline for 2025, and also demonstrates that our diverse portfolio draws from a deep well of established stars and emerging forces in slots provision. We can’t wait to watch how these games perform across a spread of new markets for Kitsune.”
Phillip Douglas, CEO & Founder of Kitsune Studios, added: “At Kitsune, we’re all about pushing what slot games can be — creating immersive experiences that feel fresh, bold, and full of personality. Partnering with QTech gives us an exciting opportunity to share that vision with new players in emerging markets.
“Their smart tech and distribution reach mean our games will land in front of the right audiences — and that’s huge for a growing studio like ours. We’re excited to see how players respond as we continue telling stories and breaking a few rules along the way.”
The post QTech Games quick to integrate fresh-faced content from Kitsune Studios appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Stats Perform has been named Live Streaming Supplier of the Year at the EGR B2B Awards 2025, in recognition of the strength, innovation, and global scale of its Bet LiveStreams platform for licensed sportsbook apps, websites and retail betting venues.
Bet LiveStreams, first launched as ‘Watch&Bet’ in 2005, now delivers more than 40,000 exclusive low-latency live events each year, across 15 sports. Football, the world’s largest betting sport, accounts for more than 15,000 matches, with rights including LaLiga, CONCACAF, English Football League and top domestic leagues and cups across Europe, South America, and APAC. Other sports include tennis, basketball, volleyball, darts, badminton, rugby and cricket.
Judges noted that Stats Perform’s Bet LiveStreams is unique because of its extensive year-long, round-the-clock coverage and high performance. In 2024, the platform securely delivered billions of live video sessions to hundreds of licensed global sportsbooks such as bet365, Betano, Superbet, Betfair, FanDuel and many more.
They also praised its interactive, built-for-betting features like betslip integration, instant highlights, and in-stream contextual stats (also known as Opta Interactive Overlays) that have made the watching and betting experience more engaging for bettors.
“Our focus with Bet LiveStreams has been to make live streams easy to watch and bettable, whoever is playing,” said Mike Perez, Chief Operating Officer at Stats Perform. “The features give bettors more entertainment from every stream, whether it’s a headline fixture like Tottenham v Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, or a six-goal thriller in South America that might otherwise have been overlooked. We’re delighted our efforts have been recognised with this award.”
The judging panel pointed to three standout recent Bet LiveStreams innovations:
- Opta Interactive Overlays: Live game and player stats and odds available directly in-stream, with bets added to the slip in one click
- Instant Highlights: Key moments can be replayed during the game to help bettors quickly catch up on relevant action, such as the moment their bet won, or see action they missed in other live games, with multi-game playlists across competitions
- Live Match Gallery: Easier discovery of concurrent events, helping bettors follow more matches and sports at the same time
Adoption of these features has been fast and operators have reported a 7x increase in interactions per session, longer watch times and more in-play bets placed.
“This award is a reflection of how far streaming can go when it’s built for betting, not just viewing. We’re excited to continue to integrate our Opta data and AI into the experience to make the future of streaming on sportsbooks more engaging, intuitive and bettable,” added Perez.
The post Stats Perform Named Live Streaming Supplier of the Year at EGR B2B Awards 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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