When ‘help’ might hurt: Do safer gambling advertisements reduce or contribute to gambling stigma?

Objectives: Gambling stigma is an important issue which influences, for example, the low rates of help-seeking observed internationally. Safer gambling advertisements aim to increase awareness regarding gambling harms among the population, although little empirical evaluation has been performed to see if current campaigns reduce or might alternatively contribute to gambling stigma. We therefore designed a mixed methods study to explore the effects of five UK-based safer gambling advertisements.Methods: Participants (N=498) completed two blocks containing the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), and the five advertisements shown in random order. Three Likert items were summed to measure each advertisement for stigmatization (e.g., “This advertisement makes me think that people who gamble heavily are at fault for whatever may happen to them”), and participants also wrote perspectives via a text box. The Likert items were analyzed via mixed models, and the text perspectives subjected to a thematic analysis.Results: Quantitative results showed that one advertisement (from the “bet regret” campaign) was seen as being stigmatizing on average, whereas the rest were not stigmatizing. Furthermore, all advertisements were seen as being more stigmatizing by participants with higher PGSI scores. The thematic analysis supported these findings, with participants also suggesting how the adverts could be improved.Discussion: The designers of safer gambling advertisements should consider their potential contribution to stigma. The higher stigmatization scores from those with higher PGSI scores underscores the need for multiple gambling-related harm interventions to help higher-risk gamblers.