Walk past a football stadium, scroll through a sports app, or watch late-night television, and you’ll find casino ads. They often portray gambling as exciting or easy money. While not aimed at children, the messaging still reaches them, especially with non-Gamstop casino sites’ ads circulating widely online. Kids, still learning about risk and media influence, may take these messages at face value. As this type of advertising grows, so does the need for media literacy in schools. Teaching pupils how to question and interpret what they see helps them make better decisions later, rather than absorbing marketing without thinking.
The Shape of Modern Casino Advertising
Gambling adverts have evolved. What once looked like dated bookmaker banners is now polished video, sponsored content, and cross-brand influencer deals. In the UK, children are regularly exposed to ads during football coverage, on social media, and via app promotions. The design of these ads has become slicker, more targeted, and more immersive.
These ads often feature:
- Bright visuals and fast-paced edits to build excitement
- Promotional phrases like “free spins” or “no deposit needed” that downplay financial risk
- Sound effects mimicking jackpot wins or crowd cheers
- Sports sponsorships that embed gambling into team identities
- Endorsements from popular personalities or streamers who are trusted by younger viewers
The overall effect is the normalisation of gambling. Repetition cements the idea that gambling is part of everyday adult behaviour. For children, who are still forming their ideas of adulthood and decision-making, the repetition matters more than the content.
What Children Actually Notice
Children engage with adverts on an emotional and sensory level. They notice colours, music, slogans, and characters more than small print. In most cases, they’re not reading the disclaimers. They’re absorbing tone, energy, and rhythm.
When children see a casino ad, they may:
- Associate betting with excitement, noise, and celebration
- Notice that their favourite sports teams or influencers support it
- See gambling presented alongside gaming or sports, blurring boundaries
- View success stories, but never see consequences or losses
Younger children, in particular, are less likely to spot persuasive intent. They may not understand that they are watching an advert. For them, it can appear to be part of the content they were already engaging with.
The Rise of Casino Visibility
Non-Gamstop casinos — those not linked to the UK’s self-exclusion register — operate internationally, often under offshore licences. Because of this, their advertising isn’t bound by UK regulations, even if it reaches UK users. Children may encounter such adverts via:
- Streaming services and apps with international ad feeds
- Social media platforms with weak age-gating mechanisms
- Browser games or free apps that carry gambling promotions
- Video content where influencers promote casino offers as entertainment
These ads may avoid the regulatory tone required in the UK, for example, warnings, responsible gambling messages, or age restrictions. They may also use memes, fast cuts, or youth-friendly aesthetics that indirectly appeal to younger audiences. The result is a wave of exposure that parents and teachers often don’t see, but children do.
What Happens When There’s No Media Literacy
Without any intervention, repeated exposure to this kind of advertising can lead to long-term shifts in how children understand risk and money. They may:
- Start seeing gambling as a quick way to success
- Believe that skill or intelligence can beat luck
- Fail to understand the low odds of real winnings
- Ignore or misunderstand warnings about losses and addiction
Children may also begin to emulate gambling behaviours in play. This might take the form of fake bets with friends, fascination with slot-machine mechanics in games, or developing the idea that rewards come from chance, not effort.
It’s not about whether children gamble at a young age. It’s about the mindset they carry with them as they grow older. Exposure lays a foundation that shapes later choices — including the choice to gamble impulsively, or to resist it.
What Media Literacy Teaches
Media literacy education is designed to close the gap between seeing content and understanding it. In the case of gambling adverts, it teaches children to:
- Recognise advertising techniques like repetition, emotional appeal, and scarcity
- Identify who benefits financially from a message
- Question what’s not being shown (e.g., losses, emotional distress)
- Compare persuasive messages with real-world data or facts
In practice, this might include:
- Watching an ad and breaking it down frame by frame
- Discussing how visuals and music manipulate feelings
- Researching the real odds behind a “free spin” offer
- Roleplaying and ad creation to expose persuasive structures
These lessons not only reduce the influence of gambling ads but also improve digital resilience more broadly.
How Schools Can Make an Impact
1. Teach Ad Recognition Across Subjects
Teachers can integrate advertising analysis into English (analysing persuasive language), PSHE (decision-making), and maths (probability and financial reasoning). Cross-subject learning reinforces the skill across contexts.
2. Use Real-World Examples
Bring in casino ads, children have likely seen — football shirt sponsors, YouTube pre-rolls, sponsored influencer content. Analyse how they are constructed and who they appeal to.
3. Collaborate With External Charities
Organisations like YGAM and GamCare offer school resources, training, and even classroom sessions tailored to digital gambling literacy. These groups can help teachers stay up to date with new trends in online gambling exposure.
4. Empower Parents to Continue Conversations
Send home short guides or workshop invites. Help parents talk about gambling and advertising in age-appropriate ways, without fear or judgment. When children hear consistent messages at school and home, the lesson sticks.
5. Build Critical Thinking Early
Even in Year 3 or 4, children can start exploring how digital content works. Teach them how algorithms deliver certain ads. Let them reflect on how different people get different messages, and what that says about advertising.
What Young People Say About Gambling Ads
Pupil feedback from classroom pilots reveals a mix of curiosity and confusion. Some say:
- “I thought it was part of the match, not an advert.”
- “I’ve seen people on YouTube win money and say it’s easy.”
- “I didn’t know you could lose that much.”
This suggests that young people are watching — but not always questioning. Media literacy isn’t about creating cynics. It’s about creating children who ask, “Why am I seeing this?”
What the UK Is Doing Now
UK regulators are reviewing how gambling ads reach young people, but enforcement is difficult. The government has set age-gating standards, but platforms often struggle to apply them accurately. Meanwhile, non-UK operators continue to advertise through legal grey areas.
In this environment, schools act as the last line of education. While they can’t prevent exposure, they can shift the impact of it. Some are already leading:
- Running media literacy units focused on gambling
- Linking maths lessons to probability and chance
- Assigning digital media homework about influencer sponsorships
These small steps can make a big difference.
Moving Forward: Why Media Literacy Must Start Early
Children don’t need adult-level psychology to spot persuasion. They just need regular practice. The earlier media literacy becomes part of the school experience, the more confident pupils are when faced with slick messages, not just in gambling, but in consumer culture more widely.
By starting early, schools give children tools to:
- Protect their decision-making
- Question normalised risk messages
- Resist manipulation in future financial or social choices
It’s not just about gambling. It’s about helping the next generation navigate a digital world filled with persuasion.
Final Thoughts
Casino ads don’t need to be dramatic to be effective. A repeated slogan during a football match, a logo on a shirt, or a 15-second TikTok plug — that’s enough to start shaping how children think. If we want young people to grow into thoughtful, careful decision-makers, media literacy is the way to get there.
Schools can’t change the ad market. But they can help children see it clearly. And that clarity is one of the most important lessons they can take away.