TikTok expands gambling ads trial in Australia despite widespread backlash
Social media platform adds Dabble and Entain-owned Neds to its advertising partnership stable to join Sportsbet
TikTok has expanded its sports betting advertising strategy to include Dabble and Neds despite widespread criticism by public health experts.
Neds is producing videos to encourage users to download its app, while Dabble is making content with former AFL star Dane Swan to boost the social betting operator’s profile.
In one video, Swan introduces himself and says it’s his first day working for Dabble and reads aloud a set of jokes prepared for him.
The social media platform began its trial of gambling adverts in November last year with Flutter Entertainment-owned Sportsbet, but immediately came under fire from experts, with Professor Samantha Thomas, a gambling researcher at Deakin University, airing her concerns.
She said that as TikTok is mainly used by young people, and the ads from Sportsbet were created in the style of humorous sketches synonymous with the platform, viewers would only become aware it was an ad for the operator once the name and safer gambling message was displayed.
Marketing experts in Australia also accused the operator of using the ads to target young women to try and diversify its male-dominated player base.
TikTok stated that advertisements are targeted at those aged 21 and over. There is a frequency cap on how often the ads are shown as well as an opt-out feature if users don’t want to see the videos.
Simone McCarthy, a research fellow focusing on gambling at Deakin University, has said that using TikTok is vital to gambling firms as it allows them to reach a new younger audience.
McCarthy said: “This just shows that sports betting companies are always one step ahead; it’s quite narrow to just look at the impact of gambling ads with sports [coverage], as young people are predominately spending their time on social media.
“The sports betting companies have switched on and are moving to these platforms where governments are not looking,” McCarthy added.
Any content that goes live on TikTok must include a safer gambling message, but McCarthy remarked that these messages were less effective on TikTok.
She said: “When you’re watching television, you’re forced to watch that message, but on TikTok, most users have already swiped to watch another video. This shows that the government has not really thought about how these messages will translate to social media.”
The Alliance for Gambling Reform also expressed concern about regulatory oversight of the trial despite the social media platform’s assurances. The group is also worried this could open the floodgates to a demographic who haven’t been exposed to this type of advertising before.
An alliance spokesperson said: “The sponsored posts have been gender-targeted with young women being told they can now place bets on superficial things like BeReal times, Love Island and White Lotus season three.”