The impact of gambling advertising and marketing on online gambling behavior: an analysis based on Spanish data

Objectives: Online platforms have transformed gambling into a daily activity for many, raising concerns about its potential harm. Notably, marketing strategies play a crucial role in influencing gambling behaviors and normalizing gambling. This study aims to explore the relationship between monthly marketing expenditure by the gambling industry, the online amount of money bet, and the number of online accounts (active and new) in Spain. A secondary goal is to assess the impact of marketing restrictions under the Spanish Royal Decree 958/2020 on the relationship between marketing and online gambling behavior. Study design: Longitudinal study. Methods: Data covering January 2013 to December 2023. Dependent variables included: new accounts, active accounts, gambler deposits, and the total money bet. Independent variables included: expenditure on advertising, bonuses, affiliate marketing, and sponsorship. A Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model was employed to assess marketing's impact on online gambling behavior. Results: Findings show that investment in advertising (P <= 0.025), promotions (P < 0.001), and sponsorships (P <= 0.004) significantly increase the number of new and active accounts, deposits, and total money bet. For instance, it has been estimated that, for every <euro>1 invested in bonuses and sponsorship, gamblers deposit <euro>1.6 and <euro>4 into their accounts, respectively. Moreover, the Spanish law regulating gambling advertising has seemingly weakened the link between marketing expenditure and gambling behavior, with the notable exception of bonuses, where the impact has intensified. Conclusions: These results underline the importance of ongoing monitoring and regulation of gambling behavior in Spain, emphasizing the need for strict adherence to regulations. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).