Perception and Exposure of Bet9ja Online Gambling Advertisement Among Nnamdi Azikiwe University Undergraduates

Abstract

Online gambling has become exponentially popular with the explosion of Internet access over the last two decades (Krogulecki, 2017). Sites for legal gambling have been established and the Internet has made gambling accessible to almost everyone, which also have high impacts on the youth. Survey method was adopted to explore the perceptions and exposure of Bet9ja online gambling advertisement among Nnamdi Azikiwe University undergraduates. Anchored on audience perception theory, copies of questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents who were 396 from a population of 40,010 full-time undergraduates. The multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents and administer questionnaires for the research. Data was analyzed quantitatively and findings revealed a complex scenario where exposure patterns vary among respondents. Findings underscore the importance of tailoring messages to align with the diverse expectations and preferences of the audience. The study recommends among others that advertisers should tailor their strategies to the preferred mediums of the target audience, with a particular emphasis on social media. The study also recommends that there is need for public health awareness programs targeting university students.