Betting is Loving and Bettors are Predators: A Conceptual Metaphor Approach to Online Sports Betting Advertising - PubMed (original) (raw)

Betting is Loving and Bettors are Predators: A Conceptual Metaphor Approach to Online Sports Betting Advertising

Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez et al. J Gambl Stud. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

The legalisation of online gambling in multiple territories has caused a growth in the exposure of consumers to online sports betting (OSB) advertising. While some efforts have been made to understand the visible structure of betting promotional messages, little is known about the latent components of OSB advertisements. The present study sought to address this issue by examining the metaphorical conceptualisation of OSB advertising. A sample of Spanish and British television OSB advertisements from 2014 to 2016 was analysed (N = 133). Following Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory, four main structural metaphors that shaped how OSB advertising can be understood were identified: betting as (1) an act of love, (2) a market, (3) a sport, and (4) a natural environment. In general, these metaphors, which were found widely across 29 different betting brands, facilitated the perception of bettors as active players, with an executive role in the sport events bet upon, and greater control over bet outcomes.

Keywords: Advertising; Gambling; Metaphor; Narrative; Online; Soccer; Sports betting.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

Authors A, B and C declare that they have no conflict of interest. Author D declares that he has received funding for a number of research projects in the area of gambling education for young people, social responsibility in gambling and gambling treatment from the Responsibility in Gambling Trust, a charitable body which funds its research program based on donations from the gambling industry. He also undertakes consultancy for various gaming companies in the area of social responsibility in gambling.

Human and Animal Rights

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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