Television Advertising Influence and the Gambling Habits of Students in selected Tertiary Institutions in South-East Nigeria

Gambling which is commonly called betting in many parts of the world has become common among students in tertiary institutions as a way of making money. With their smart phones and available online platforms as well as the betting houses scattered around cities and some rural areas added to television audio visual advertising, many students are lured to bet. Inns, private places and few public settings provide easy avenues to a game played as a well-established business with managers, operators and players in every nooks and crannies, and promoted by adverts. The purpose of this study was to explore how television advertising influences the students in tertiary institutions to engage in gambling as a means of making money. The study employed qualitative design hinged on observation. The study was anchored on stimulus-response model which focuses on: Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action (AIDA) model. Findings from the study showed that students in tertiary institutions are exposed to TV advertisements of betting; television advertising lure students to place more bets; television advertising of betting influences the betting habits of students. Based on these findings, we recommended that students should avoid exposure to TV betting advertisements to avoid being lured to betting by such adverts; the management of tertiary institutions should include gambling education in the orientation of new students to make them aware of the risks involved in betting; laws against gambling should be introduced in every tertiary institution to punish students caught in the act of betting and discourage potential students gamblers; parents should warn their children against gambling before sending them to tertiary institutions.