Social media advertising of gamified problem gambling: a mixed-method analysis of the advertising nexus and financial motivation of Gen Zs

Yaw Odame Gyau

doi:10.29329/jsomer.53

Authors

Yaw Odame Gyau Unıversıty of Media, Arts and Communıcatıon-Instıtute of Journalısm (UniMAC-IJ), Ghana https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8214-8938

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.53

Abstract

Gamified Problem Gambling (GPG) is an increasingly popular trend in Africa, with many young individuals using numerous gambling apps. Numerous studies have identified Social Media Advertising (SMA) as the primary channel for raising awareness and driving participation in GPG. The desire to become rich overnight has been a strong motivator for Gen Zs to engage in GPG, as other studies have found. Consequently, this research aimed to investigate how SMA of GPG influences the financial motivation of Gen Zs and the extent to which Trust, Affect, and Loyalty mediate the nexus. The Cognitive Theory of Gambling, the Relative Deprivation Theory, and the Weak Theory all contribute to the theoretical underpinning for this study. This study adopted the Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Method and Quota sampling techniques to collect data from 617 Ghanaian university students. The results were analyzed using PLS-SEM and NVivo (v. 14). The findings revealed that SMA of GPG has a significant impact on FM. Loyalty, Affect, and Trust of Gen Zs strongly mediate the nexus between SMA of GPG and FM to patronize sports betting. The study contributes to the literature on SMA and GPG and recommends that, to ensure sports betting companies remain in business, they must address the concerns of Gen Z bettors as revealed in this study and respond accordingly, since they are their major clients.

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