Abstract
This study examines the web design and engineering, advertising and marketing, and pedagogical features present at a random
sample of 71 international poker sites obtained from the Casino City directory in the summer of 2009. We coded for 22 variables
related to access, appeal, player protection, customer services, on-site security, use of images, text, and language, interactive
and immersive materials, promotional products and programs, sponsorships, celebrities, tutelage resources, responsible gambling
programs, and thematic content. We explore several questions: How are Internet poker sites designed and stylized to create
trust and familiarity and attract and retain consumers? How prevalent are the new forms of social media such as “viral marketing,”
“network marketing,” and “word of mouse” advertising in reaching and constituting poker players as consumers? What mechanisms
do internet gambling websites deploy to socialize customers to purchase their products and enter into a culture of poker?
What are the master advertising messages at websites and what are their implications for responsible gambling and problem
gambling?
sample of 71 international poker sites obtained from the Casino City directory in the summer of 2009. We coded for 22 variables
related to access, appeal, player protection, customer services, on-site security, use of images, text, and language, interactive
and immersive materials, promotional products and programs, sponsorships, celebrities, tutelage resources, responsible gambling
programs, and thematic content. We explore several questions: How are Internet poker sites designed and stylized to create
trust and familiarity and attract and retain consumers? How prevalent are the new forms of social media such as “viral marketing,”
“network marketing,” and “word of mouse” advertising in reaching and constituting poker players as consumers? What mechanisms
do internet gambling websites deploy to socialize customers to purchase their products and enter into a culture of poker?
What are the master advertising messages at websites and what are their implications for responsible gambling and problem
gambling?
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-24
- DOI 10.1007/s11469-011-9336-3
- Authors
- John L. McMullan, Department of Sociology and Criminology, Saint Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3C3
- Melissa Kervin, Dalhousie Counselling Services Centre, Dalhousie University, 6136 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2
- Journal International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
- Online ISSN 1557-1882
- Print ISSN 1557-1874