The high cost of direct marketing from wagering operators, tipsters and affiliates: An ecological momentary assessment of how wagering promotions drive betting, expenditure, and harm.

Background and aims: Wagering direct marketing is prolific, but no research has examined its relationship with gambling harm, nor the effects of direct marketing from wagering affiliates and tipsters. This study aimed to 1) examine the extent to which frequent bettors receive more direct promotional messages from wagering operators, free betting information services, and paid tipsters, and 2) assess longitudinal associations between message exposure and the number of bets placed, amount spent on betting, and short-term betting-related harm.

Methods: An ecological momentary assessment administered seven surveys over two weeks to collect repeated measurements of exposure to direct messages and number of bets placed, betting expenditure and short-term betting harm. Linear mixed effects regression models analysed 4,020 observations from 814 Australian participants who bet at-least fortnightly on sports or races.

Results: Over the two weeks, participants using each type of service received on average 12.7 messages from wagering operators, 11.8 from free services and 21.7 from tipsters. Number of bets, expenditure and harm all increased with each additional message from wagering operators. Betting consumption and harm also increased with each message received through a digital channel from free services and tipsters. Receiving messages through emails, texts and app notifications from any source was accompanied by increased expenditure and harm. Messages from wagering operators were particularly potent for higher-risk bettors.

Discussion and conclusions: Direct messages can immediately stimulate betting, expenditure, and gambling-related harm, justifying further restrictions. Many frequent bettors use affiliate betting services that currently have little regulatory oversight or consumer protections.