The focus of this week is to investigate some ways that sports betting companies take advantage of their consumers. For the purpose of my fourth research post, I excluded the math/stats portion, and focused only on general strategies that are used by companies. Some of my findings I already was aware of, and others were new to me and very interesting!
I learned a lot again this
week! One main exploration that I engaged in surrounded the topic of marketing.
Although many factors can contribute to gambling harm, one crucial issue that
we must teach our children/students about is marketing and consumerism. There
are various regulations in place in Ontario to prevent the marketing of some
forms of gambling, but there is not many regulations relating to the marketing
of newer forms of gambling – such as online sports betting. Several scholars,
such as Deans and colleagues (2017), note the importance of collecting better
information about how marketing strategies may be shaping betting attitudes and
behaviours. These authors also acknowledge some policy and regulatory responses
that may help to counteract the risky or harmful consumption of gambling
products. The study that they conducted found that most of the environments
where betting advertisements are seen are not environments designed for
betting. This research suggests that marketing plays a role in the
normalization of gambling in sports. As educators, however, we should strive to
normalize taking gambling precautions, instead. We must teach our students how
companies use marketing in unsuspected ways. These strategies are sophisticated
and strategically planned in a way that may take advantage of consumers.
I did, however, have some
trouble again this week. One issue that I had pondered this week was how I will
get this message across to my students? Specifically, how will I overcome the
overwhelming messages sent from the large and powerful sports corporations. These companies
hire professionals to advertise for them. Is it possible for me – a teacher –
to get through to my students? I will need to try my best to get through to my
students.
For next week’s research, I will be getting more in-depth with my topic by relating what I have already learned about sports betting with some mathematical and statistical facts and understandings. This will really help my project and assist me in moving forward with research on how statistics are used in sports betting.
References
Deans, E., Thomas, S.L., Derevensky, J., &
Daube M. (2017). The influence of marketing on the sports betting attitudes and
consumption behaviours of young men: implications for harm reduction and
prevention strategies. Harm Reduction Journal. https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-017-0131-8
