The ongoing debate in Australia over gambling advertising restrictions continue despite legislative division.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to introduce a limit to gambling inducements from betting companies, such as free bonus bets, deposit matches, and boosted odds.
This comes as part of ongoing efforts to introduce gambling legislation that will bring in stricter rules on advertising in a bid to reduce harm caused by it in the country. As it stands, Australians suffer the biggest global gambling losses in the world, totalling roughly $32bn per year, according to a report by Equity Economics.
The PM and opposition leader met to negotiate the terms of the new gambling restrictions, with deals discussed to strengthen the Labor bill.
This follows high-profile allegations revealed during a parliamentary enquiry from former National Rugby League (NRL) star Luke Bateman, who claimed gambling promoters supplied him with cocaine and alcohol, encouraging dangerous behaviour without exercising a duty of care.
The government is now planning to ban commissions for VIP account managers after the enquiry was told that high-value gamblers were offered escorts, illegal drugs, travel, and accommodation by account managers.
Albanese promised limits on inducements in a meeting of Labor’s caucus, and alluded to new unspecified rules to come on gambling advertising.
Ad restrictions to come
Under the new regulation, gambling ads are likely to be restricted to three ads per hour between the hours of 6am and 8.30pm on TV, alongside a complete ban during live sport between those times. Ads on radio will be banned during school drop-off and pick-up times.
Ads on platforms like Apple and Spotify podcasts, as well as search engines like Google will be reduced if the legislation goes through.
“This will be the strongest anti-gambling legislation that Australia has ever seen,” Albanese told the Labor caucus on Monday afternoon.
“I’m confident that later in the week we will have the legislation in the House of Representatives with some really practical amendments, dealing with the targeting of advertising, dealing with reducing children’s exposure, and dealing with as well, the full suite of measures in a really practical way.”
Four MPs warned of overregulation, urging the coalition to get the balance right and avoid limiting gambling ads too much, while five called for tougher restrictions.
Some Liberal MPs are pushing for the action to go further, such as an opt-in model for gambling ads on streaming platforms – although the industry also warned of regulatory overreach.
The deal is expected to be finalised later this week – although strong opposition is expected from the Greens, who have called for much stronger action.
