Danish Gambling Authority launches RG campaign targeting U-18s

The Danish Gambling Authority has launched a new effort to address problem gambling and specifically boost problem gambling awareness among individuals younger than 18 years old. The efforts are incorporated in a new nationwide campaign that is specifically tailored towards this age group.

According to the regulator’s own research, at least 15% of young people between the ages of 15 and 17 have gambled money online over the past year. This information along with data from StopSpillet, which indicates that most people who gamble start doing so before the age of 25, reinforces the idea that in order to ensure that young people are protected, a more targeted approach is necessary.

Commenting on the latest efforts, and the recent data collected by the regulator, Director Anders Dorph explained that even young people under the age of 18 find a way to gamble in the country, even though the law prohibits it and is designed in such a way as to make it technically impossible.

However, this continues to happen, Dorph said, and added that this is why the regulator has shown strong motivation to focus on addressing potential gambling problems among younger people. The idea is to make an impression on young people by strongly reminding them about the risks associated with the activity and the fact that the "house always wins."

The new marketing push employs the idea of the "one-armed thief" who is used in the campaign to signify gambling addiction and explain how it affects people of all ages, but especially young people who may then continue to show signs of addictive or reckless gambling behavior later in life. The choice of a character is a clever play of words too, drawing on local folklore and cultural significance, as well as the fact that a "one-armed thief" is another name for slots, or at least some of the older versions of those machines.

The campaign comes with video materials that feature the fabled character played by David Minerba. The one-armed thief" actually gets its own YouTube and Instagram channels and plays out through different scenarios.

The use of social media channels will allow the Danish Gambling Authority to better engage with a generation of people who are technologically savvy and creative enough to go around any blocks that the regulator can put in place to access gambling products.

By building a product that is more compelling in the face of a cleverly designed series of video sketches on YouTube, the regulator believes that it can raise awareness for the issue in a meaningful way and see the number of young people who have gambled at least once under the legal age drop.

The campaign was inspired by a similar move by the StyrPåSpille, the Spelinspektionen-led educational platform similarly created to boost awareness for problem gambling and the risks associated with gambling.

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