Gambling harm services have expressed frustration about their adverts for rehabilitation being automatically blocked online, amid an increase in wagering advertising and Sportsbet’s partnership with TikTok.
Adverts that mention gambling are sometimes automatically blocked by social media companies or search engines to comply with their own advertising rules or government regulations. This is usually done by a combination of algorithms that block certain words as well as human oversight.
The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) has had adverts for its treatment service, Gambler’s Help, automatically blocked by Google. The foundation argues its harm minimisation programs are not distinguished from gambling industry offers and promotions.
“The foundation’s concern is that people who are at risk of gambling harm are being exposed to ads that encourage them to gamble while ads for help service are being blocked. This has been an ongoing issue for years,” a VRGF spokesperson said.
“This has become such a problem with Google’s display and video advertising network that the foundation no longer buys this inventory.”
The VRGF spokesperson said the process for unblocking ads was lengthy and ineffective.
A Google spokesperson disputed that claim and said the precautions were in place to “keep ads safe and appropriate for everyone”.
“In this instance, our systems erred strongly on the side of caution and inadvertently blocked some ads from this advertiser. Once we became aware of this, we worked quickly to have these ads reinstated,” the Google spokesperson said.
“We’re constantly working to improve the accuracy of our enforcement systems and we apologise for any inconvenience this caused the advertiser.”
A US-based treatment service has also complained after having adverts for its gambling addiction program blocked by TikTok, with emails confirming similar problems were experienced by other services.
“I’ve spoken with my team and our ad policy department, and they are unable to work around the issues that are preventing you from advertising,” a US-based TikTok employee told the company last week.
“My colleague had a very similar issue with a client that was looking to advertise a group where men help support each other struggling with addiction, and no matter what they did, it was impossible to work around. I wish there was more that could be done.”
Gambling promotions are banned on TikTok but late last year the Chinese-owned social media company agreed to allow Sportsbet to target Australian users as part of a strictly controlled trial.
TikTok was contacted for comment. Last week, a company spokesperson said the ads were only shown to users 21 or older and were closely monitored. Their frequency was also restricted and users could opt out of seeing them.
Prof Sally Gainsbury, the director of the Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic at the University of Sydney, said social media was increasingly used to deliver highly targeted ads to existing and potential gamblers.
“This can be viewed as a legitimate commercial marketing strategy. However, research suggests that people who are experiencing gambling problems, who have difficulty controlling their betting, are most likely to be impacted by these sorts of ads,” Gainsbury said.
Gainsbury said TikTok had made the right decision by allowing customers to opt out of the adverts if they wished.
“Gambling ads act as a trigger, making people think about gambling and those who are struggling controlling their gambling are most likely to gamble as a result of seeing an ad. It can be difficult to control ads on social media,” Gainsbury said.
“Just as individuals can self-exclude from accessing their gambling accounts, they should be able to opt out of marketing.”
• In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found through GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, the National Council on Problem Gambling is on 800-522-4700
