Sports betting addiction: a high-risk World Cup for young people

A global festive event, the football World Cup which starts Thursday in North America is a period of high risk of sports betting addiction for young people and excessive players, targeted by the powerful marketing of operators such as Winamax or Unibet, according to associations and experts.

In France, gamblers whose gambling is excessive, characterized by a loss of control - the inability to stop gambling or to gamble less despite negative consequences, financial, psychological, familial, social... - are estimated at 15% of gamblers, three times more than in all gambling.

But these "can find themselves particularly targeted" by the marketing of sports operators, who will spend 785 million euros on advertising this year, half of it on digital, an "amount up 25%", said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the gambling regulator, the National Gambling Authority (ANJ), last Thursday to Le Parisien.

For her, the World Cup is a "risky period", with "increasingly effective betting promotion" which mixes influencers, advertisements, betting advisors, bonuses... she emphasized, stating that she wished, as in the United Kingdom, for a ban on advertising "in a period from five minutes before to five minutes after" the end of a match, in order to protect minors.

A very insufficient measure, Myriam Savy, head of advocacy at Addictions France, told AFP, for whom this ban should go from "one hour before and one hour after" the matches, on social networks and on television.

"We must also ban sponsorship, which is not considered advertising by Arcom, with which operators make themselves visible everywhere," instilling the idea that "sports betting is part of the sporting experience, which trivializes them," she says.

Studies show that eight out of ten young people aged 15 to 17 report being exposed to sports betting advertising through traditional media such as television and radio, but also through social networks and points of sale.

M6 and beIN Sports, broadcasters of the event, as well as AFJEL, which brings together the operators (Winamax, Betclic, NetBet, Vbet...), have announced that they will refrain from advertising during the "refreshment breaks" of the matches.

- "Stakes have tripled in five years"

"But they have not announced that they will stop advertising via influencers, send notifications to encourage gambling, or remove financial rewards," points out Myriam Savy, adding: "That's normal: 60% of their revenue comes from excessive gamblers," according to the ANJ.

When contacted by AFP, Unibet (FDJ, Française des Jeux) pointed out that it is the only operator to dedicate 10% of its advertising investments to campaigns to prevent excessive gambling. Winamax declined to comment on the matter.

According to sociologist Thomas Amadieu, "the industry responsible for the damages presents itself as the solution to the problem, in order to postpone a regulation that is more protective of the players".

Addictions France supports the bill introduced by Green Party MP Emmanuel Duplessy aimed at better regulating sports betting marketing. With "bets having tripled in just five years," "it is urgent to act against the advertising onslaught," he declared to MPs on Tuesday.

Another source of concern: a public health prevention campaign by Santé publique France, intended to be broadcast in advance of the event in May, has remained on the back burner, lamented the unions of the health agency, pointing to "interference from the services of the Prime Minister" while a reform of communication led by the government is underway.

According to a source close to the matter, these services have not yet validated this campaign.

Addictions France is also concerned to see Pascal Chèvremont, a former lobbyist for the alcohol sector - he was the general delegate of Brewers of France - proposed by the Elysée to succeed Ms. Falque-Pierrotin, whose term is ending, at the head of the ANJ, the gambling regulator.