Content Hijacking: How gambling brands, in particular offshore cryptocasinos, circumvent regulation to boost reach and brand awareness on social media.

Prediction markets are becoming increasingly popular. Despite the potential benefits, the provision of event-based contracts as gamblified products operating outside established gambling regulation may expose at-risk individuals to further harm.

(Preprint) The gambling industry tends to frame gambling harms as a matter of personal responsibility. Counter-industry messages can help challenge these narratives. We tested 10 counter-industry messages among UK gamblers.

Im glad you enjoyed the read, Paul :). The whack-a-mole line was indeed a great way to illustrate the issues researchers and regulators face when it comes to the gambling industry. Especially when it comes to online gambling. We need to find ways to catch up.

Recentemente colaborei com Glen Dighton, Jamie Torrance, Philip Newall e Conor Heath para chamar atenção ao “Content Hijacking” nas redes sociais; mais um exemplo de publicidade de jogos de azar driblando regulamentações.

A palavra “patrocinado”, minúscula na imagem, era a única pista de que se tratava de publicidade. Um estudo feito em 2016 mostrou que a maioria dos leitores não identifica conteúdo patrocinado corretamente [10.1177/0002764216660140].

Notei que artigo foi claramente mal traduzido para o português, e que o endereço do site não batia com o veículo. Uma busca rápida mostrou que o artigo, além de falso, também circula usando o nome de outros jogadores de futebol, como Ronaldo.

Na suposta entrevista, Neymar diz:

"Se não acredita, vou provar. Me dê R$ 1,6000 e com esta plataforma [nome da plataforma], farei um milhão em apenas 12 a 15 semanas!"

e

"Esta plataforma é uma solução 100% perfeita para quem quer enriquecer rapidamente."

Hoje, este artigo patrocinado no MSN chamou minha atenção. Para minha surpresa, o artigo promovia uma plataforma de criptomoedas baseada em IA. O mais chocante é que parecia ter sido publicado por um dos jornais mais respeitados do Brasil (Valor Econômico) e escrito por uma repórter da Bloomberg.

I recently collaborated with Glen Dighton, Jamie Torrance, Philip Newall and Conor Heath to bring attention to 'content hijacking' on social media. Another important demonstration of gambling advertising flying under the regulatory radar.

The tiny 'sponsored' text in the image was the only indication that this was an ad. A study from 2016 found that the vast majority of readers fail to recognize sponsored content [10.1177/0002764216660140]. Add a fake newspaper header, and the results may be significantly worse.

The article was badly written, and clearly poorly translated to Portuguese. I also noticed the web address did not match the publisher. A quick search of the journalist's name revealed this article is a complete fake, and has been published using the name of other famous footballers, like Ronaldo

In the supposed interview Neymar goes on to say:

"If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it. Give me R$ 1,600 and with this platform, [platform name], I’ll make a million in just 12 to 15 weeks!"

and

"...This platform is a 100 per cent perfect solution for anyone who wants to get rich quickly."

This sponsored content on MSN called my attention today. I was surprised to see it was a full AD from a AI cryptocurrency trading platform. Shockingly, it appeared to have been published by one of the most reputable newspapers in Brazil (Valor Econômico) and written by a Bloomberg journalist.