Dr. Mark Johnson, a presidential appointee and gambler behavior researcher, cautions that we are on the cusp of a new gambling paradigm. He thinks this is a trend that’s going to stick for the foreseeable future.
Combatting the influencers
Influencers have moved to the fore by streaming gambling content on platforms ranging from Twitch to Kick. Their exploding popularity is flooding into huge audiences, which could further exacerbate Australia’s gambling epidemic, where people lose an incredible $25 billion per year. Dr. Johnson calls for more urgent research, greater platform accountability and increased public understanding around this pressing issue.
Dr. Johnson recently published a study that surveyed 350 global viewers. As a final piece of research, he deeply monitored the activities of 25 gambling influencers. The findings reveal a concerning trend: nearly half of the viewers reported feeling more inclined to gamble after watching these streams. It is by far the most ubiquitous and powerful influence when you really stop to consider it. Some of these streamers have hundreds of thousands of followers, and a few even reached the million milestone!
Unsurprisingly, Dr. Johnson identified a huge double standard in rules around gambling advertising. Online gambling advertisements are virtually unregulated and have been shown to freely flood television airwaves even during children’s programming. By comparison, streamed gambling content mostly avoids this oversight, enabling influencers to market gambling freely without the same restrictions.
“The big thing is to start taking seriously the idea that viewing gambling matters. That it is not just play which matters,” – Dr. Mark Johnson
Stuart, a YouTuber who creates content in a quiet Brisbane club, represents a growing number of influencers who engage with audiences around gambling topics. It’s just one of many times he’s shared his perspective on the ethical obligations of streamers and platforms. He thinks that some streamers purposely tell their audience to give them money, whether as a payment once or a subscription. They encourage the creation of ‘referral links’ and sponsorships as other revenue streams.
“You don’t want to trick people into thinking anybody can go down and put a hundred dollars in a machine and pull out a thousand — because that’s not the reality,” – Stuart
The largest of those platforms, Kick, claims that gambling streamers aren’t allowed to bet with viewers’ money. Even with these regulations in place, advocates and lawmakers have continued criticism over how easy it is for minors to consume this explicit content.
“Most platforms all you’ve got to do is just click a button and say, ‘yes, I’m over 18’, and away you go,” – Stuart
Dr. Johnson just wants to spread fear that normal gambling ads can’t be targeted to children. The majority of websites that minors frequent just don’t cater to this demographic. He contends that gambling streamers are one of the most influential forces around. Their ability to interact with audiences in real-time further enhances this effect.
“It’s a very modern and very novel relationship between the person who’s gambling and the resources that they have to gamble,” – Dr. Mark Johnson
Stuart is a strong proponent of stricter age verification measures on gambling sites. His motive, it would seem, is to protect children from stumbling onto harmful content. He makes the case that it’s important for these platforms to implement digital identity age verification.
In his research into streaming behavior, Dr. Johnson found that most online influencers are pushing harmful and false narratives about gambling experiences. They especially tend to promote winning streaks and downplay or ignore the many losses, leading to unrealistic expectations about gambling outcomes.
“You might see a streamer playing a certain online slot game and they’ve lost a bunch in a row — and then they change to another slot game on the same site and they win a few times and they go: ‘See, I knew it,’” – Dr. Mark Johnson
Dr. Johnson noted that a lot of harmful concepts about gambling are not often questioned in streaming spaces. Rather, these ideas are typically kept alive via social engagement among audiences and creators both.
“A lot of these kind of disordered ideas aren’t challenged by anybody and are reinforced,” – Dr. Mark Johnson
The importance of further research into the intersection of gambling and influencer culture cannot be overstated, according to Dr. Johnson. He brought attention to the amount of regulatory scrutiny that traditional media is under. Just as importantly, online platforms need to be responsible for the content they distribute.
“And it’s very hard to regulate this,” – Dr. Mark Johnson
Welcome to the conversation, Alliance for Gambling Reform! They are working hard to ensure that all youth and vulnerable adults are protected from being enticed or recruited by those who romanticize predatory gambling practices.
“[It] would prevent anyone — underage or not — from being exposed to people intending to influence gambling behaviour using tactics designed to mislead or glamorise gambling,” – Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesperson
Australia is in the thick of a major gambling crisis. We need to take quick and sweeping action to counteract the effect social media influencers have on shaping public views of gambling. This influencer culture and the normalization of gambling are changing the way people interact with gaming risks today. This shift requires more careful oversight by researchers, regulators, and society writ large.
