Gambling Industry in the United Kingdom - Case Study Example

Alternative Market Table of Contents Introduction 3 Situation Analysis 3 Empirical Information 6 Critical Reflection 8 Specific Perspectives 10 Conclusion 11 References 13 Bibliography 16 Introduction Gambling is growing in all forms throughout the world. Gambling and betting companies are no more treated like fly- by- night operations any further. Currently, gambling industry has advanced to a considerable extent, wherein the technology used in the gambling is not constrained to few areas and time as before (Mainelli & Dibb, 2004). Despite the negative impact of gambling on society as well as on individuals, there have been few prevention campaigns targeted to youths. Notably, little attention has been placed on the untapped resource of social marketing regardless of the fact that the planned process of social marketing acts as an effective tool to bring social change and promote positive health behaviour with the use of comprehensive health promotion strategies (French & et. al., 2011; Powell & Tapp, 2008). Thus, this study intends to evaluate the impact of social marketing on preventing online gambling behaviour and suggest measures to use social marketing concept to address the issue of online gambling. Situation Analysis Gambling today through internet is stated as a form of family entertainment in the changing environment. The leisure time and the entertainment form in the families are changing wherein people are indulging into online gambling. However, the increase in the gambling as a form of entertainment and business is affecting the macro and the micro environment of the country at large. Internet gambling is giving rise to social issues such as affecting the public health. Gambling affects the people in a negative manner where the psychological value and the real value are affected at large. Gambling is an addiction which leads to several negative consequences in every aspects of the society. As per the analysis it is observed that addiction leads to ‘Pathological Gambling’ which is a form of disease affecting the people involved and others related. The gambling is affecting the society at large as the disease is lowering the finances of the people (George & Murali, 2005). From the situational analysis point of view, it is observed that, gambling have an impact on the economy and society to a considerable extent. The gambling industry is affecting the economy as it is motivating the people to spend more earn high turnovers. Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC) evaluated the economy by stating the annual turnover to be US$433bn in the year 2003 in the UK (Mainelli & Dibb, 2004). The money was capitalised through the lotteries, gaming and betting. However, the turnover throughout the world is even more i.e. equal to the few points of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in few instances. Moreover, with the advent of the online gambling and easy accessibility the revenues have increased considerably. In order to use social marketing to prevent online gambling behaviour among the youths, it will be vital to evaluate different theories and models related to the public health. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) is one of the social marketing theories related to the behaviour along with the normative beliefs of the people. The theory helps in controlling the behaviour of a person and construct self-efficacy. It is the form of behaviour wherein people act accordingly and are influenced by the behaviour of the other. This theory is helpful in influencing the behaviour and attitude of the people. This form of theory is widely applied by the social marketer to implement marketing program to prevent the social issues such as consumption of tobacco and gambling habits prevalent in the society. This theory emphasises on altering the behaviour of the people for the social health of the people (Lefebvre, 2000). Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is another important theory which affects the behaviour and interpersonal behaviour of the people. The theory largely depends on the external environment for its learning in relation to its behaviour. The theory explains self-efficacy i.e. related to the judgement of the individual regarding an action. The theory can be implemented in terms of social marketing to create an emotional stimulus to manage the level of stress and alter the cognitive thinking to mitigate addiction. Motivating the people to self-regulate their performance and free from the addiction of gambling. Due to the help of SCT the social marketer can effectively use campaigns to influence the behaviour of the people at large (Lefebvre, 2000). It would be worth to be mentioned that the negative impact of gambling is even more than the economic impact to quantify. The issue of gambling is giving rise to issues such as drugs, mental health issues and alcohol which is another social issue. The issue in the society is related to finances leading to stress, abnormalities in behaviour and relationships. It also leads to domestic violence due to the drug addiction. These are few social factors that affect the people and the society at large (Lee & Kotler, 2011; Perese & et. al., 2005). Therefore, in order to mitigate these factors social marketing can be used effectively. The social marketing is an effective form of marketing wherein campaigns are directed to develop and have a positive impact on the gamblers. The social marketing is effective as it delivers social changes programs and initiatives which are effective and sustainable in attracting the people. Campaigns for the social issues such as betting and gambling will help on reducing its effect. Advertisement and social media usage is another method of influencing the people in a positive manner to restrain their addiction towards gambling. The strength of the marketing is such that it influences the human behaviour and attitude directly on the ethical ground using the principles of marketing (Byrne & et.al., 2009; MacFadyen & et. al., 1999). The weakness of the social marketing is such that it only focuses on the social values and growth and places little or no importance on commercial benefits. The opportunity for using such social marketing is that it depends on advertisement, social media, and organisational experts in order to drive changes in society. The marketing affects the people on emotional, lifestyle and also logical aspects for increase performance in reducing the website addiction and meet the overcrowded market. Social marketing acts as knowledgeable marketing strategy which primarily influences the people by increasing their awareness and knowledge along with possibly influencing the attitude against gambling and other social issues. Social media along with marketing acts as a strategy related to public health (Drennan & et. al., n.d.). Empirical Information Gambling is one of the most important issues in the UK after the de regulation act was passed for gambling in the year 2007. However, the size of the gambling industry have increased considerably giving rise to more addiction and people at large. Family and youth are getting involved in the practices of gambling since the act was legitimated. As per the research conducted it is observed that due to the increase in the addiction a family spends almost 10% of their household income on gambling activities (Powell & Tapp, 2009). It is further observed that due to the increase addiction the bankruptcy rate of the people have increased considerably across the different societies (Reith, 2006). A loss in gamble affects the psychology of a person and hence increases the crime rate. The increase in the negative social impact is due to the issue related to gambling and the influence it has on the mind of a person and their attitude. Money laundering is becoming common among the people due to the negative addiction impact of gambling. Moreover, as per the survey it is observed that the quality of life also gets affected due to the increase in the addiction towards online gambling which is easily available. Moreover, socio demographic is another aspect which hampers the people and their productivity due to the loss they suffer from gambling leading to family distress, violence along with bankruptcy. The impact of technology is huge on gambling as it is easily available and accessible by the people from every corner. Internet gambling is more addictive as it can be used at an affordable rate without travelling. This implies that people now spend their leisure time by playing online gambling on a regular basis. The internet usage has made gambling an obsession for the people and hence the business has become a £ 2bn business in 2013. Also it is observed that the rate of addiction has increased considerably wherein millions of people are found to be addicted towards gambling. Moreover, growing rate of 500,000 people per annum is being estimated to develop the habit of gambling. It is estimated by the researchers that the gambling industry in Europe will show a growing trend of 36 per cent by the year 2017 and is projected to surpass £2bn mark. As per the Gambling Commission a survey was conducted in the year 2010, it was observed that the number of problem gambler had increased at a considerable rate 450,000 and the average debt per family is £17,500. This implies that the people were at a risk of losing their money and quality standard life due to the increased gambling addiction amid the youths. Moreover, British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) was initiated to identify the people at moderate risk who are the verge of becoming addictive problematic gambler. The growing number of people vulnerable to gambling addiction is estimated to be more 2.7million people (Gallagher, 2013; Pahor, 2007). In this regard, it is worth mentioning that social marketing is an effective way of communication which helps people to get rid of the addiction. Social marketing is used as a marketing tool to sell the good health of the society along with the wellbeing of the people. Social marketing have been used in order to mitigate the social issues affecting the health of the public such as smoking and tobacco. The social marketing will be affective with the use of campaigns by demonstrating the negative effect gambling has on the people and behaviour. Creating awareness stating the ill effects of gambling such as depression and loss of sleep are few methods. Social citizenship is a focus group working for the benefit of the society. Educating people and the use of the social media such as televisions, magazines and also internet are related to social marketing for mitigating the rising issue of gambling. Social marketing has been effective in mitigating issues related to tobacco, smoking and drinking and driving at a large extent. The success rate for such issues in relation to social marketing is high as it considers the health of the people (Messerlian & Derevensky, 2007). The social marketing takes into consideration cognitive behaviour and its treatment by affecting the mind of the people through campaigns and education (George & Murali, 2005). Critical Reflection Gambling is one of the major issues faced by the people of UK as it has become the favourite pass time of the youth. The social marketing is form of marketing which is implemented in the society in various forms to bring wellbeing along with save life of the people. It uses marketing mix concept along with other marketing system. From the above observation, it is analysed that gambling is increasing in the society and is changing the behavioural pattern of the people. The impact of gambling is affecting the cognitive thinking process of the people and they are getting addictive towards it. This implies that nearly 10% of the household income of a family is spent of gambling industry giving rise to bankruptcy, distress and lack of confidence. In order to mitigate the issues social marketing implements the marketing concept and other practices in order to create value to the people regarding their good health. The impact of the social marketing is created through the use of social-behavioural theory to influence their behaviour. The advertisements and the campaigns initiated in regards to the gambling affect the emotions and psychology of the people (Griffiths, 2003; University of Sterling, n.d.). It raises the awareness, knowledge and perspective of the people through negative campaigning and advertisements. This technique of marketing implies the use of the theory of reasoned action which has direct impact on the individuals at large. Moreover, with the development of technology and the youth of today being well informed and technologically savvy will require the social marketing to be more influential. For the marketing to be effective the social marketing must be part of the ‘youth gambling prevention approach’ which implies the execution of policies against gambling addictive. People are getting more involved in gambling in their leisure time due to the cognitive distortion. In order to reduce the increase in the cognitive distortion it is of significance for the marketing to apply the concept of theory of reasoned action wherein the action and mind of the people will be affected in large at help in reducing addiction. This can be done by implementing campaigns and role play against gambling by demonstrating true stories and the negative effect of gambling. The cognitive-behavioural therapy program is conducted with the help of the social marketing this involves information sharing regarding gambling among the individuals especially the youth, problem solving training is also provided through the training along with social skill training (Dickson & et. al, 2002). As stated in the reports, it is observed that this form of therapy worked wonders for the people and changed their belief and perception. Gambling depicts the therapeutic approach of the people, where in people play gamble continuously even if they are failing to achieve the monetary gain. In order to reduce this psychology of the people, cognitive therapy is used in the social marketing by showing regular advertisement and campaigns against the ill effect of gambling on the society and the people along with the family. The regular advertisement, social awareness programs in every corner of the society is done to increase the impact of the social marketing even if the market is crowded with other forms of marketing. Due to the growing impact of the gambling, it is observed that, pathological gamblers are exhibiting greater distress and change in their behaviour showing high level of depression, low self-esteem due to the growing addiction (West & Hardy, 2005). The social marketing highlights the social responsibility and ethics of the people that should be followed by the people for a better environment (Gupta & Derevensky, 2000). The theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory used in the style of marketing helps in reducing the increasing effect of gambling at large. The methods of marketing through social media usage or by physical appearances are useful way of marketing that influences the people at large and is helping in reducing the gambling addiction. Specific Perspectives Gambling is a social issue faced by the people throughout the world. However, the increase in the gambling industry is observed in UK due to the incorporation of the gambling act and the use of the technology. People use technology for online gambling with the help of e-cash and are getting addictive as they spent their leisure time in gambling. From the above analysis it is observed that gambling is one of the social issues faced by the societies in the UK. Moreover, technology has made a wide impact on the social issue of gambling making it affordable and easy to access (Griffiths, 1999). People are so inclined towards gambling that during their leisure time they tend to spend their time on gambling via internet or mobile phones. The increase in gambling leads to the upsurge of addiction among the people. In this context, to reduce the negative impact of gambling social marketing is implemented to create awareness and knowledge amid the people. The social marketing is using the cause and effect theory wherein the cause is the addiction of gambling leading to financial losses and depression and the effect is the implementation of the social marketing. With the increase in addiction the people are becoming pathological gamblers and hence the effect of it is awareness campaigns and educational training (State of Victoria, 2009). Gambling causes various negatives such as violence, increase in crime and also bankruptcy if played like addicted people. The risk associated with gambling is high which affects not only the person but also his /her family at large creating. The causes of gambling are many and different for people and thus its effect results in low standard of living and increased crime. The cause and effect relation to gambling are many as stated and observed earlier. However, the social marketing is also related to the cause and effect concept wherein the cause of the marketing is the growing social issues in the society wherein the people are getting affected psychologically at large (General Accounting Office, 2000). The campaigns, focus group, advertisements are the cause of the negative issue of gambling and the effect is such that the people are getting more aware regarding gambling and is effecting the cognitive thinking of the people at large for better results. The social media such as the social sites are being used for anti-gambling pages are being created for influencing large youngsters from becoming addicted. The public health the major concern of the people is being answered and resolved through the help of social marketing with the help of technology, trust building, combination approaches and also proper continues campaigns. This will help on to change the behaviour of the people with the help of marketing which including ‘Transformative social marketing’ which implies to bring change amid the people by educating then with ethics (Lefebvre, 2012). Conclusion The paper depicts the increase rate of addiction towards the gambling among the youngsters due to the technological advancement. The internet gambling is gaining importance within the young generation as they during their free time indulge into gambling by making payments with e- cash. The psychology to win the gamble makes them more addicted towards gambling and hence they lose a lot of money while gambling. Hence, to overcome the issue social marketing is implemented which through its campaigns and advertisement tries to reduce gambling addiction. The marketing takes into consideration the theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory in order to influence the mind of the people. 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