Way to Play: Analyzing Gambling Ads for Their Appeal to Underage Youth

This study is the first in Canada to look at gambling ads from a variety of media sources from different provincial lotteries, with 127 television, radio, print, and public-display ads obtained from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Loto-Québec, and the Western Lottery Corporation. Ads were coded for recurring themes, symbols, and discourses using a qualitative software program and analyzed, with their appeal to youth forming the framework for analysis. Major findings include the discussion of nine key themes: easy money, dream, social status, glamour, regular folks, sports, excitement, humour, and youth culture. These themes are discussed in terms of their specific appeal to youth audiences, and their significance is related to existing literature.