Betting advertisements has taken centre stage once again in Australia as fears over young people developing gambling addictions grows, according to lecturer Louise Francis.

The Curtin School of Population Health lecturer has claimed there is no way for young people to avoid gambling ads as social media becomes more attached to everyday life.

As a result, young teenagers are unable to switch off from gambling ads being pushed on them by social media influencers, increasing their likelihood of financial problems later in life.

Raising awareness for the growing trend, Francis said: “What they (teenagers) were saying is they are really inundated with gambling advertising on their social media feeds,” she said.

“They talked about it being a lot and really inescapable, that was one comment that a young person said. It’s just there for them, and they really see it particularly in their social media feeds.”

One report (according to a March discussion paper by the Australia Institute) claimed that 30 per cent of those aged 12-17 years old gamble, spending a total of $18.4 million each year on gambling activities.

The worrying statistics could lead to problems later in life for this age group, who have grown up with unprecedented access to social media. “They’re really that first generation being exposed to this saturation of gambling advertising,” she said.

“If we don’t do something now — really, we should have done something 10 years ago — it will go into the future of these young people growing into adults and not knowing any different.

“As long as we keep focus on the entertainment aspect of gambling and making it a really social and marketable activity those things can continue to cause trouble later in life.”

We’ve seen previous claims about the advertisements in Australia frustrating the population, of all ages, with betting expert Gerard Daffy telling SBC that: “People are sick of it; you watch any TV show at all and at the ad break, guarantee they’ll be one or two bookies, especially during live sports events,” and he tipped that regulation change come in the near future.

Plus, with young people being privy to celebrity influencers pushing gambling, we have seen country outlaw that form of marketing, with Romania prohibiting celebrity endorsement.

With talk of regulation in Australia, the government’s own ‘You Win Some, You Lose More’ reports that featured 31 recommendations hasn’t been answered by legislation, leading Francis to claim that the governments must do more.

“The government is very much attuned to the impacts on an industry and their profit margins as opposed to public health and so no, I don’t think the government is doing enough,” she said.

“If they were they would have immediately accepted the ‘You Win Some, You Lose More’ inquiry and the 31 recommendations.

“The fact that that’s dragged on for so many years is a clear indication that they’re not doing enough, they don’t need any more research on this, they’ve got the facts in front of them.”