"You Can Just Watch the Game for Fun": Young People's Messages to Major Professional Sporting Organisations About the Relationship Between Gambling and Sport.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Many Australian young people now think that gambling is a normal part of sport. However, there is still resistance from sporting codes and governments to implementing evidence-based strategies that are known to protect young people from gambling messages during sport. This paper aimed to explore young people's views about the relationship between gambling and sport, the role of marketing, and their messages to major professional sporting organisations.

METHODS

Online focus groups (n = 22) with young people aged 12-17 years (n = 64) from Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct themes from the data.

RESULTS

Participants perceived that there was an entrenched relationship between gambling and sport in Australia that was largely normalised by marketing strategies. They described that gambling contributed to increased positive emotions relating to the sports viewing experience and engaged those who might not be otherwise interested in sport. Participants believed that sporting organisations should prioritise removing gambling advertising from sport because of the negative impact on young people. They called for measures that significantly reduce or limit gambling advertisements within sports.

CONCLUSIONS

Young people view gambling as culturally accommodated within sport. They have important insights into the link between gambling and sport, including policy strategies that should be used to safeguard them from the tactics of the gambling industry. SO WHAT?: Public health has an important role to play in ensuring that young people's opinions and experiences are recognised in policy decisions about gambling.