A recent analysis of gambling advertising on Meta platforms in Ireland uncovered a marked gender disparity, with more than twice as many male accounts reached compared to female accounts.
The findings, published on Thursday and led by the University of Cambridge, focused on 88 Ireland-licensed gambling operators and analysed a sample of 411 adverts displayed between March 2024 and February 2025. It reviewed those aged between 18-65+.
Researchers affiliated with the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling undertook a detailed examination of Meta’s advertising repository. It leveraged data mandated for publication under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
This legislation requires large online platforms, including Meta, to provide detailed records of paid advertisements and associated audience demographic summaries for countries within the EU and European Economic Area.
What were the main findings?
The adverts reached 12,690,245 male Meta accounts compared to 5,458,438 female accounts, representing a 2.3:1 ratio favouring men. Overall, 18,389,653 unique accounts were exposed to gambling advertisements across the period.
Of the 411 adverts, 91 (22%) explicitly targeted men only, while none targeted women exclusively. The majority (74%) were labelled as targeting ‘All’.
When it comes to age, younger adults dominated ad reach, with the 25-34 age group constituting the largest segment (6,246,408 accounts, or 33.9%). Additionally, the 35-44 age group reached 4,701,885 accounts (25.5%). Together, the 25-44 age bracket accounted for nearly 60% of the reached audience.
Strikingly, the research reported that a single Betfair advertisement reached 1,320,179 unique accounts, roughly 26% of Ireland’s 5.15 million population. Meanwhile, the five most-viewed adverts collectively reached 3,688,413 accounts.
The researchers noted that although explicit male-only targeting was limited, Meta’s ad delivery algorithms skewed strongly towards male users. They also highlighted the prominence of sports-themed adverts, particularly football, as contributing factors to this gender disparity.
“Not that many adverts directly targeted men to begin with.” said Dr Elena Petrovskaya, the lead author of the report and faculty member at the Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology.
“But even when adverts were set to reach all genders, they still reached that very vulnerable group of young men.
“It shows that if companies just put ads on social media, they are still reaching young men – the group we know from other research is most at risk of gambling harms.”
How does Ireland gamble?
Ireland exhibits relatively high rates of gambling participation, with lifetime engagement estimated at 64.5%. Approximately 3.3% of the population fall into the high-risk gambling category, with men aged 25-34 identified as having the highest levels of risky gambling behaviour (1.3%) compared to 0.2% among women in the same age group.
“Even in a country like Ireland with a small population, the number of accounts these ads reached was dizzying,” said Petrovskaya. “We looked at Ireland as a case study of an environment where a modern gambling regulatory framework had not yet been adopted.”
The data collection predates the full implementation of provisions in Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which took effect in March 2025. It also established the Gambling Regulatory Authority.
These regulations introduced stricter advertising limits, including a watershed banning gambling advertisements on broadcast and on-demand audiovisual services between 5.30am and 9.00pm. It also covered social media and video platform gambling ads, restricting them only to users who follow a licensed gambling operator.
Co-author Dr Deidre Leahy from MTU in Cork emphasised the importance of further research to assess the Gambling Regulation Act.
“This research provides valuable insights that establish a baseline for the reach of gambling advertising on social media in Ireland before the introduction of a regulatory framework.
“This baseline will be essential for assessing the impact of reforms under the Gambling Regulation Act.”
UK MPs brand ads as public health issue
This research adds to evidence indicating that gambling advertisements, especially those with sports themes targeting younger men, may normalise betting behaviours.
A recent All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report on UK gambling advertisement called for stricter reforms.
The report noted a growing concentration of this spending on digital platforms, sports sponsorships and social media channels. It suggested operators were employing techniques that risked normalising gambling among underage audiences. In response to the report, UK MPs have framed gambling advertisements as a public health issue.
The Cambridge study concluded that the Meta Ad Library offers a valuable resource for monitoring gambling advertising practices within Ireland and the broader EU context.
The researchers urged continued use of platform transparency tools for regulatory oversight. They also urged follow-up studies to assess the impact of the Gambling Regulation Act as well as close surveillance of regulatory enforcement to prevent illicit advertising circumvention.
Kathryn Evans
Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan – long before Hollywood came calling.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/tech-innovation/gambling-ads-reach-twice-as-many-men-as-women-in-ireland/
