The Stop Gambling Foundation Exposes Online Gambling in ‘Tit for Tat’ Campaign

Dentsu Creative Thailand has partnered with The Stop Gambling Foundation to launch the 'Tit for Tat Stop Online Gambling' campaign, a 'fight-back' initiative that plays on gambling ad techniques to raise awareness about the dangers of gambling addiction for youths in Thailand.

The Context

Online gambling has become a growing crisis in Thailand, despite being illegal. Each year, over three million Thai children—one-third of all youth—are lured into online gambling, leading to debts exceeding 6,426 million baht1, as well as increasing crime rates, from petty theft to armed robbery. Gambling websites use targeted ads on social media to reach vulnerable youth, making it easy for them to fall into the gambling trap. Despite efforts to block these deceptive ads, they continue to infiltrate platforms.

The Strategy and Campaign

The strategy was simple: If gambling websites are effectively targeting youth this way, then it’s time to Tit for Tat. Dentsu Creative Thailand helped to bring the creative vision of this campaign to life, playing a key role in shaping the concept of fighting back, using the same method that gambling websites use to attract the youth to raise awareness of their dangers. 

The 'Tit for Tat: Stop Online Gambling' campaign, repurposed gambling ads—twisting their content from enticing youth to gamble into warning them of the dangers instead. Each ad mimicked the style and appeal of gambling promotions but ended with real stories of young people whose lives were ruined by gambling. These ads were strategically placed on TikTok, the primary social platform for Thai youth, ensuring they would see these powerful warnings.

Results

The campaign successfully captured attention and sparked conversations, leading to a significant surge in engagement:

+945.5% TikTok followers

+154.3% TikTok video views

+155.7% TikTok video reach

(Compared to TikTok account benchmarks)

By leveraging the same digital tools as gambling websites, Dentsu Creative Thailand turned the tide on deceptive online gambling ads, delivering a message that resonated with Thai youth and helped them make informed choices about their future.