The online gambling company Sportsbet is using TikTok to target young women with advertising designed to diversify its predominately male client base, according to gambling researchers and marketing experts.
Gambling promotions are banned on TikTok but late last year the Chinese-owned social media company agreed to allow Sportsbet to target Australian users as part of a strictly controlled trial.
“A closed pilot for sports betting is currently in operation for one managed client who has obtained permission from TikTok via an application process,” states the company’s advertising policy.
Shortly before the US Super Bowl this week, Sportsbet published a video ad with a young woman drawing attention to “novelty bet” markets on Rihanna’s half-time performance. The video ran the “gamble responsibly” tag in small print.
“Girls group chat going wild because Rihanna is dropping Super Bowl half-time show teasers and Sportsbet has markets on it,” the video caption said as a young woman typed into her phone.
The novelty markets allowed people to bet on what outfit Rihanna would wear, what props she would use, how long she would sing for and what colour liquid would be poured on the winning coach after the match.
Sportsbet has published other videos featuring the Sydney-based influencer Luisa Dal Din. One video ran the caption “me pretending I know horse racing to impress my crush”.
A spokesperson for TikTok said the ads were only shown to users 21 or older and were closely monitored. Their frequency was also restricted and users could opt out of seeing them.
A Sportsbet spokesperson said the ads had been age-restricted to “minimise the risk of exposure to minors while connecting with adult audiences on the platforms they enjoy”.
Toby Ralph, an advertising expert, said Sportsbet was using the TikTok trial to maximise its client base and profits.
“This means finding new markets. [Young women] who couldn’t give a shit about the merits of the Chiefs or the Eagles can be induced to pony up cash by connecting to a bet on Rihanna, and suggesting that the tribe they want to join is crazy for it,” Ralph said.
“Does this lead to ethical concerns? No. From an advertising perspective, if it’s legal, they will go all in.”
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has expressed concern about regulatory oversight of the trial, despite TikTok’s insistence it is strictly controlled.
Late last year the alliance complained about the ads to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, alleging a breach of the advertising rules. The complaint was dismissed.
“As Sportsbet is licensed by the Northern Territory gambling regulator, it is suggested that you lodge your complaint with the Northern Territory Racing Commission,” a VGCCC manager said in an email seen by Guardian Australia.
An alliance spokesperson said the TikTok trial “opens the floodgates” to a demographic of Australians who have not always been exposed to gambling advertisements.
“The sponsored posts have been gender-targeted with young women being told they can now place bets on superficial things like BeReal times, Love Island and White Lotus season three,” an alliance spokesperson said.
Dr Simone McCarthy, a gambling researcher at Deakin University, said young women were an untapped market for the gambling industry.
“Gambling is becoming normalised for women and a lot of this has to do with the marketing they see,” McCarthy said. “Our research shows that young women perceive that gambling advertising has begun to appeal to women and that women are increasingly featured in gambling advertising.
“We saw this with tobacco. When [companies] saturated the male market they started designing products that were appealing to women and this same strategy is now being used with novelty bets.”
