New rules around when operators can advertise could have ‘unintended consequences’.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced fresh restrictions on gambling ads for TV and radio, aimed to protect children from being exposed to harmful content.
During an address to the National Press Club, Albanese confirmed that TV gambling ads will soon be capped at three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, and limits will be introduced on who can feature in them, with celebrities and sports players banned.
Gambling ads will also be completely banned from the radio during school pick-up and drop-off times, and online platforms will not be permitted to show such ads unless the user is logged into an account, is over 18, and has been given the option to opt-out.
Within sports venues, gambling ads will be outlawed both in-stadia and on player’s and official’s uniforms.
This closely follows voluntary action from Sportsbet, one of Australia’s biggest sportsbooks, which decided to vacate its in-stadia advertising space, despite a multi-million dollar deal, in response to growing frustration within Australian communities regarding the frequency of gambling ads.
Sportsbet has called the reforms “overly blunt”, and warned it could have “unintended consequences”, such as pushing more Australians towards illegal offshore betting, which is not limited by the same restrictions.
Albanese described the reforms, announced more than three years after the landmark Murphy review into gambling advertising was handed down, as “the most significant reform on gambling that has ever been implemented”.
“We are getting the balance right, letting adults have a punt if they want to, but making sure that our children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look,” Albanese told the National Press Club.
Australians have the highest losses to gambling per capita in the world, with an average of $31.5bn lost per year, which has been likened to a ‘hidden, unspoken black hole’ in a report by Equity Economics. This amounts to nearly $1,527 for every adult in Australia.
“Gambling addiction is a serious public health issue and this announcement represents strong reform to reduce gambling harms in Australia’s history,” says minister for sport, Anika Wells.
“Our reforms will break the connection between wagering and sport, minimise children’s exposure to wagering advertising and reduce its saturation across the internet, radio and TV channels.”
