Vulnerable Australians ‘force-fed’ gambling and alcohol ads on Facebook, report finds

Vulnerable Australians at high risk of gambling and alcohol issues are being “force fed” Facebook ads for that content, with experts claiming they are being targeted by social media marketing.

A study by University of Queensland researchers found that gambling and alcohol ads can be served up many times in a short period to people at high risk of gambling or alcohol-related harms.

“This report is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we know about how alcohol and gambling companies collect and use people’s data to then target them with their harmful and addictive products,” said Dr Giselle Newton, the chief investigator on the report.

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“People who are trying to reduce their alcohol use or gambling don’t want to be targeted with ads selling these products, and can find it difficult to escape this advertising when they are on social media platforms like Facebook.”

The research, funded by VicHealth and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (Fare), recruited 10 people who had experienced – or were at risk of harm from – alcohol and gambling products. The study’s participants included people with high-risk alcohol use, high-risk gambling, and those trying to reduce their use of those products or recovering from such harms.

It found those 10 people had been “tagged” by Facebook with 89 different alcohol and gambling related interests, allowing alcohol and gambling companies to target their advertising toward them. The study also found 201 alcohol companies and 63 gambling companies had in turn shared data with Facebook about those people, which allowed further ad targeting.

Advertisers share information with platforms like Facebook about their users, including when a person clicks on a website or uses an app, to further target advertising.

The report said participants were aware their browsing history could be used to target online ads towards them, but were “particularly alarmed to learn that alcohol and gambling companies shared their data with Facebook to target them”.

Some participants said there should be options to opt-out of alcohol or gambling ads online.

The federal government is under pressure to outline its long-awaited response to a report from the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which recommended a full ban on online gambling ads. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has hosed down expectations of a full ad ban, with the government’s response expected by year’s end.

The University of Queensland study found users tagged with more than a dozen alcohol related ad interests, and sometimes more than 100 alcohol companies shared data about them. One person who had been trying for years to reduce their alcohol use was found to have had 95 alcohol companies share data about them.

“Participants did not want to be profiled and targeted in this way and expressed that it can be impossible to escape this advertising when they are on social media,” the report’s authors wrote.

“They shared frustration that current platform options do not enable them to prevent this advertising from being targeted at them.”

One young woman trying to cut back on high alcohol usage found a quarter of ads she saw on Facebook were related to alcohol, including pubs, merchandise, or events associated with alcohol consumption. She had been tagged with 25 alcohol advertising interests including “beer”, “wine” and “rum”, and 123 alcohol companies had shared data to Facebook about her, including pubs, bottle shops and alcohol brands.

One woman trying to reduce her high-risk gambling found she had been tagged with 18 alcohol and gambling interests including “casino”, “lottery” and “Keno”, while 14 gambling companies had uploaded data about her, including bookmakers and lotteries. A man in his early 20s, trying to reduce his high-risk gambling, found he’d been tagged with 41 gambling advertising interests including sporting bookmakers and “blackjack”, as well as having his data uploaded by 52 gambling companies such as sports betting agencies.

Martin Thomas, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform – which is campaigning for gambling ad restrictions – claimed the report highlighted “predatory marketing practices of gambling companies, and how platforms like Facebook enable them”.

“Australians expect the federal government to do more to ensure people who are most at risk of harm aren’t constantly bombarded with ads for harmful and addictive products,” he said.

Caterina Giorgi, Fare’s CEO, said people shouldn’t be targeted for advertising “based upon their vulnerabilities”.

“It’s concerning to see alcohol, gambling and social media companies deliberately prey on people who are most susceptible to harm,” she said.

“We are calling on the federal government to implement protections that put the health and wellbeing of families and communities ahead of the interests of alcohol and gambling companies.”