Wellbeing

Vermont Secondary College

Help young people think critically about gambling ads

Next week our Year 8 cohort will participate in a workshop “Know the Score”. The workshop will explore the connection between gaming and gambling and build skills and confidence in students to understand gambling advertising, the impact of gambling and how to seek support if they are worried about a friend.

Young people are exposed to prolific gambling advertising. Far from being harmless, these ads are priming our students to think gambling is normal and risk free and can put them at risk of experiencing gambling issues as adults.

The truth about gambling ads

Betting ads strongly appeal to young people because they often use humour, celebrities, Tik Tok influencers, and incentives like 'free bets' and 'cash rewards'. In addition, they don't show the negative consequences of gambling so they can prime young people to believe that gambling is a risk-free and guaranteed way to make money.

An average of 948 ads were broadcast daily on free-to-air TV in Victoria in 2021.
Gambling companies spent $171 million on advertising in Australia in 2025.

And the reality is that gambling ads work. Gambling companies know that for every dollar spent on advertising, they will make massive profits from the people who lose money to gambling.

What can parents and carers do?

We can’t stop our children from seeing gambling advertising, but we can help them develop the knowledge and skills to think critically about the ads they see. Next time you’re with your child and a gambling ad appears, ask them questions like:

Why do you think there are so many gambling ads?
Do they make it seem easy to win, fun and risk free?
Why do you think betting companies offer free bets, ‘multis’ and cash back offers?
Who do you think really wins when it comes to gambling?

By starting a discussion, you can help your child think critically about gambling advertising and understand that gambling is a risky activity that often results in people losing, rather than winning money.

For more tips on how to have a conversation about gambling, visit the ‘Parents and carers’ section of Be Ahead of the Game website: www.beaheadofthegame.vic.gov.au

Or the special edition in SchoolTV

https://vermontsc.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-gambling-young-people-au