Does user activity promote gambling-related content on Twitter/X?

Abstract

Social media has provided gambling operators with access to millions of individuals and novel ways to promote gambling. Research has suggested that exposure to gambling advertisements on social media platforms is associated with increased gambling in individuals at-risk for problem gambling. These findings bring into question whether social media platforms are sensitive to differences in user account activity (e.g., tweets, likes, accounts visited) when displaying promoted advertisements and gambling-related content. To assess for these differences, four Twitter/X accounts were created and assigned to send out tweets containing pro-gambling or safe-gambling messages. Additionally, each account was assigned to interact with Twitter/X profiles associated with gambling operators or responsible gambling. Accounts were assessed daily for promoted advertisement traffic and gambling-related content from January to March 2022. The study included three phases that implemented changes in privacy settings, websites visited, and gambling-related tweets observed. To assess for between-phase differences, Tau-U analyses were performed using R. Gambling-related content observed was dependent on assigned account activity. Accounts that interacted with gambling operators’ profiles were only displayed pro-gambling content. Conversely, accounts that interacted with responsible gambling profiles were only displayed safe-gambling content. No promoted gambling advertisements were observed throughout the study. Findings suggest that Twitter/X is sensitive to differences in account activity, and user activity may influence gambling content displayed on Twitter/X. Nevertheless, gambling operators should adopt a conservative approach on social media to ensure protection of consumers. Consumers should be given autonomy to engage with gambling content without being drawn in involuntarily.