A new study has found that gambling advertising on social media platforms reaches young men at more than twice the rate of women, raising fresh questions about exposure patterns in online marketing by betting companies.

Researchers led by the University of Cambridge examined 411 adverts run by 88 licensed gambling operators in Ireland. Their analysis focused on campaigns appearing across Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, using data from the Meta Ad Library.

The study shows that even when ads were not explicitly aimed at men, they still tended to reach them in much higher numbers. Young men were reached 2.3 times more than women, highlighting a consistent imbalance in exposure.

The research appears in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions.

Wide exposure across age groups and platforms

The data revealed that people aged 25 to 34 were the most exposed group, accounting for more than a third of all unique accounts reached. This age bracket also saw over 6.2 million impressions from the analysed adverts.

Overall, the campaigns reached 12.6 million men compared with 5.4 million women. Across the full dataset, 91 adverts, or 22%, targeted men only. None of the adverts were directed solely at women.

A single advert from a popular operator reached more than 1.32 million unique accounts, which the researchers noted was equal to roughly 26% of Ireland’s population.

The study also found that adverts covering people aged 25 to 44 made up 59.4% of all accounts reached, showing a strong concentration in younger and middle-aged adults.

Researchers point to regulatory gaps and risk patterns

The team carried out the analysis using the Meta Ad Library, a database required under the EU Digital Services Act, which obliges platforms such as Meta to publish details of adverts shown in EU countries along with demographic reach data.

Researchers say the results highlight how gambling adverts spread across social media even without narrow targeting by advertisers.

“Not that many adverts directly targeted men to begin with. But even when adverts were set to reach all genders, they still reached that very vulnerable group of young men,” said lead author Dr Elena Petrovskaya from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology. “It shows that if companies just put ads on social media, they are still reaching young men - the group we know from other research is most at risk of gambling harms.”

The study also links its findings to earlier research showing that exposure to gambling marketing can shape attitudes and behaviour, sometimes increasing participation. Previous work has also pointed to a pattern where higher exposure tends to increase gambling activity and related risks.

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Ireland’s new rules and a shifting policy landscape

The research comes as Ireland begins rolling out updated gambling rules. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which came into force in March 2025, created the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and introduced new advertising controls.

Once fully implemented, social media gambling adverts in Ireland will be restricted to users who actively follow licensed operators. Broadcast advertising will also face new timing limits under a watershed system.

“This research provides valuable insights that establish a baseline for the reach of gambling advertising on social media in Ireland before the introduction of a regulatory framework,” said co-author Dr Deirdre Leahy from MTU in Cork. “This baseline will be essential for assessing the impact of reforms under the Gambling Regulation Act.”

Researchers argue that their approach, built on analysing data from the Meta Ad Library, could be applied in other countries where gambling advertising rules remain less strict, including the UK. They also point to wider adoption of transparency rules as a way to better understand how commercial advertising reaches vulnerable groups.

Source:

, cam.ac.uk, April 28, 2026