Source : the age
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced restrictions on gambling advertising, including a ban on betting companies appearing on sporting jerseys and in stadiums.
In an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday, Albanese revealed that the government would cap the number of TV ads for betting agencies to a maximum of three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, and would ban all gambling ads on radio during school drop-off and pick-up times.
The new restrictions will also include a ban on cross-promotion that mixes sporting commentary with betting odds, an end to advertising on jerseys and in stadiums, a ban on online advertising to people under 18, and blocking illegal gaming sites. Online Keno type “pocket pokies” will also be banned under Labor’s proposal, which is yet to be introduced to parliament.
“We are getting the balance right. Letting adults have a punt if they want to, but making sure our children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look. Because we don’t want kids growing up thinking that footy and gambling are inextricably linked,” Albanese told the Press Club.
But the government has stopped short of the complete ban on online gambling advertising recommended in a report by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, published over 1000 days ago in her last political act.
Asked whether the government has not gone far enough in adopting a full ban, Albanese said: “It’s the most, to be clear, significant reform on gambling that has ever been implemented.”
In a statement, the government said it would draft legislation, with the reforms to take effect on January 1, 2027.
This masthead revealed on Wednesday that Albanese would soon announce his long-delayed crackdown on gambling advertising, and that the reforms would include a phased ban on advertising in stadiums and on jerseys.
Responsible Wagering Australia chief executive Kai Cantwell, who represents many gambling companies, said his members supported evidence-based reform and had already reduced the volume of ads during broadcasts.
“But this announcement, with no heads-up and no genuine consultation, is a real kick in the guts for the industry,” Cantwell said. “This sector contributes almost $6 billion to the Australian economy, supports around 30,000 jobs, and provides critical funding to sport, racing and broadcast industries across the country.”
Ahead of the release of the Murphy report in 2023, between $30 million and $40 million a year in gambling advertising revenue flowed from betting firms to the nation’s free-to-air TV broadcasters Seven West Media, Channel Ten, and Nine Entertainment, publisher of this masthead.
In the years since, that revenue has fallen by roughly 60 per cent, according to media industry estimates. Free TV, the lobby group representing Australia’s major TV companies, said the Albanese government’s reforms “risk undermining” the free news and sport those companies provide.
Free TV chief executive Bridget Fair called on the government to consider “mitigation” measures. These include the removal of the commercial broadcasting tax, and fast-tracking the introduction of the News Bargaining Incentive, and a charge-and-offset scheme aimed at forcing big tech firms Meta and Google to pay publishers for news.
“We are concerned about the revenue impact these restrictions will have on services that are required to be advertiser funded,” Fair said in a statement on Thursday. “The government has consistently acknowledged that mitigation is part of this equation, and we urge it to act on that commitment without delay.”
One of the largest buyers of gambling advertising in the Australian market is Irish-owned online bookmaker SportsBet. In a statement on Thursday, a spokesman for the company branded Labor’s headline reforms “severe and far-reaching”.
“Sportsbet recognises changing community sentiment on gambling advertising and has already taken proactive steps, including significantly reducing advertising volumes and removing odds‑style advertising from live sport,” the spokesman said.
“We are concerned that overly blunt restrictions risk serious unintended consequences – particularly driving more Australians towards illegal offshore operators that offer no consumer protections, pay no tax and contribute nothing to Australian sport or racing. We would like to see much greater detail from the government, particularly on how it intends to tackle illegal offshore gambling.”
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
