A frequency and content analysis of gambling advertising shown during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

The growing popularity of women’s football could provide an opportunity for gambling operators to target a new and potentially untapped audience, however, there has been comparatively less research on gambling advertising in women’s sports compared to men’s. This study therefore sought to examine the frequency and content of TV gambling adverts during UK coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2023. All matches were recorded on Sky TV, and variables from each match were coded, including the company responsible, the products advertised, the type of each gambling advert, and the use of safer gambling messages. During 32 matches, 19 gambling-affiliated adverts were coded (M = 0.6). Only brand awareness, and financial inducements advert types featured. Just three of these adverts (15.8%) embedded a safer gambling message. The gambling products featured across adverts were all luck-based but did not in any other way specifically target women. This research also uncovered regional differences in the content of observed gambling adverts, which raises methodological challenges which would need to be addressed to conduct future research on TV gambling advertising. Future research should continue to monitor women’s sports as a potential marketing opportunity for the gambling industry.