Framing The Game: How Gambling Brands Use Instagram to Shape Sports Narratives in the UK and Ireland.

Framing The Game: How Gambling Brands Use Instagram to Shape Sports Narratives in the UK and Ireland.

We draw on Goffman’s (1974) frame theory to explore how gambling brands use Instagram to market through sport in the shared media market of the UK and Ireland. Our primary aim is to understand how gambling-related content is strategically crafted to create narratives around their services through associations and formal partnerships with sports organisations.
Research questions:
• How are gambling operators using Instagram to construct legitimacy, authenticity and credibility in sport business?
• What are the implications for sports organisations and athletes that partner with gambling companies?

Goffman (1974) posits that people make sense of their experiences by drawing on socially shared frameworks. In gambling marketing, framing helps shape public perception, often minimising the risks and potential harms and maximising the need for personal responsibility. This theoretical lens highlights how influential stakeholders, like gambling brands, control dominant narratives.

Instagram has become an essential space for athletes, sports organisations, and brands to engage with audiences (Anagnostopoulos et al., 2018; Doyle et al., 2022). Athletes use the platform for personal branding, while corporations leverage it to establish credibility and emotional connections through sponsorships. Effective engagement often relies on authenticity, storytelling, and visual content (Geurin-Eagleman & Burch, 2016).

The international liberalisation of gambling laws, the intensity of competition, and the ubiquity of mobile and social platforms require gambling corporations to market aggressively. Communications often normalise gambling as a low-risk activity and a socially acceptable aspect of all sports. Research consistently shows that young people are particularly vulnerable to gambling advertisements. Celebrity and influencer endorsements on Instagram enhance the appeal and perceived legitimacy of gambling (Pitt et al., 2024). Despite some scepticism, many young individuals still regard gambling as a suitable sponsor for sports, raising concerns about the ethical alignment between gambling and sport (Kitchin et al., 2024).

This qualitative research was derived from previous work focusing on 14–24-year-olds in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Instagram was selected due to its popularity among young sports fans and increasing relevance in sports communication research. The dataset comprised 953 artefacts from seven major gambling brands (Paddy Power, BoyleSports, Sky Bet, Ladbrokes, Betfair, Betway, and Bet365) published during two time periods: October–December 2023 and 2024. A purposive, weighted sample comprising 30% of artefacts (n-315) was analysed using NVivo software.

Two coding schemes were used. Descriptive coding covered post format, genre, hashtags, RG messages, and specific references to gambling or sport. Thematic analysis employed both inductive and deductive approaches, grounded in framing theory, to identify overarching frames and narratives. This dual coding process, carried out by multiple coders, ensured credibility and consistency.

Gambling brands overwhelmingly used sport content during these periods, primarily featuring top English football, horse racing, and darts to engage fans. There was minimal representation of women’s sports, highlighting a gender imbalance in gambling promotions. Gambling was frequently framed as a fun and essential aspect of sports culture. Risks were downplayed, with little content directly addressing the harms or complexities of gambling. When included, responsible gambling (RG) messages placed the burden of responsibility on the individual. While all brands posted RG messages, they were often generic (e.g., “BeGambleAware”) statements in the posts’ terms and conditions. Posts dedicated to RG were shared only during Safer Gambling Week and consisted mainly of static images, which were less engaging than the usual posts by gambling brands.

Brands used various frames to manage their presentation online. Communications positioned brands as ‘authoritative about sport’, ‘central to others’ success’, or ‘engaging through fan banter.’ Posts not explicitly about gambling (e.g., sports trivia, athlete interviews) were popular and effective in building brand familiarity. One brand excelled in using Instagram’s algorithmic features to maximise reach. By focusing on content marketing, this brand’s posts and reels featured higher engagement levels in likes and comments. These practices align with previous findings that gambling brands frame risk as a personal failing and reinforce gambling as a normative leisure activity. This creates a powerful yet problematic alignment between sport and gambling, potentially increasing the exposure and vulnerability of young sports fans (Hing et al, 2023).

Over time, there is evidence of the increasing sophistication of gambling marketing on Instagram, particularly through the lens of sports fandom. Gambling brands use sport to normalise and ingratiate their services into popular culture. However, there was an increase in communications around corporate social responsibility initiatives, reinforcing ‘front-of-house legitimacy’. We contribute to framing theory by applying it to a modern, digital context and demonstrating its utility in dissecting complex marketing strategies on social media.

Ethical scrutiny is imperative for sports organisations when partnering with gambling brands, especially given their previously established influence on young fans. Finally, future research should focus on the role of social media algorithms, the evolving nature of content marketing, and the perspectives of sports organisations.