Social marketing and the pursuit of a legitimacy strategy

Abstract

State gambling organisations like the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) face a fundamental paradox: generating public revenue from an activity associated with social harm. This study examines how BCLC uses corporate sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting as a social marketing tool to reinforce societal legitimacy. Through a content analysis of reports from 2021 and 2022 using Leximancer software, the research identifies how BCLC frames its efforts—such as Indigenous reconciliation and employee wellbeing—to align with stakeholder expectations and mitigate the stigma of gambling. The findings suggest that BCLC employs strategies of Earning, Bargaining, and Construing legitimacy to recast the organisation as a contributor to public wellbeing.