Study in Journal of Behavioral Addictions finds Meta platform gambling ads reached young Irish men 2.3x more than women, even without explicit gender targeting.
Key Takeaways
Cambridge-led analysis of 411 ads from 88 licensed Irish gambling operators used the Meta Ad Library and EU Digital Services Act transparency data.
Men aged 25-34 are the highest-risk group for problem gambling in Ireland (1.3% vs 0.2% for women); they were also the most-reached demographic.
91 ads (22%) explicitly targeted men only; zero targeted only women. Yet gender-neutral ads still skewed heavily male in reach.
A single Betfair ad reached 1.32 million unique accounts, equivalent to 26% of Ireland’s population.
Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Act 2024 now restricts social media gambling ads to opted-in followers; UK, Australia, and the US remain lightly regulated.
