Australia’s federal government is set to reject calls for a blanket ban on sports betting advertising and instead impose “frequency caps” that limit the number of ads permitted to be shown each hour or during live event broadcasts.
While the full extent of impending reforms to the online gambling industry won’t be known until they are put to cabinet in the coming weeks, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Sunday that Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is pushing for a “middle ground” solution by which television advertising by licensed sports betting operators would still be allowed but only with strict conditions. These are to include gambling ads to be limited to two per hour on each channel until 10pm and a ban on all such ads an hour before and an hour after televised live sporting events.
However, social media gambling advertising would be banned completely, the report suggests.
The reforms follow a 2023 parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm which recommended a complete ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling, to be phased in over three years. It also recommended the establishment of a national gambling regulator to oversee all licensing and regulation nationwide, an annual levy to be charged to online to fund the country’s harm prevention measures.
According to The SMH, the frequency caps model has been promoted by market leader Sportsbet and lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia in discussions with the government as a means of avoiding a complete advertising bans. Major sporting bodies are also said to have called for a cap over abolition due to the significant revenues the industry generates.
Conversely, wagering giant Tabcorp has called for stronger advertising restrictions in recent years, albeit with the goal of clawing back some of the market share it has lost to corporate bookmakers such as Sportsbet and Ladbrokes in recent years on the back of substantial advertising budgets.
Although Australia’s vocal anti-gambling groups have supported the inquiry’s calls for a complete ban on gambling ads, specialist gaming industry lawyers contacted by Inside Asian Gaming following last year’s inquiry said that any blanket ban would in itself be problematic.
“I don’t think [a ban] is appropriate,” Julian Hoskins, founder and principal at Senet, told IAG a 2023 interview.
“I do believe gambling advertising needs to be whittled back, but it should be approached in a carefully measured way so there is a reduction in gambling related harm and so that children aren’t exposed to gambling advertising.
“Advertising on TV at 8pm should not be compared to advertising at midnight. And advertising around the [Melbourne Cricket Ground]is different from advertising around a racetrack where 99% of people attending will be adults.
“The approach to a complete ban, it certainly hasn’t worked in other jurisdictions, and irrespective of gambling advertising restrictions on local operators, you’re still going to see advertising by offshore operators and those that shouldn’t be offering into this market.”
Jamie Nettleton, Partner at Addisons Law Firm, added that the whole point of issuing betting licenses was to provide access to the local market.
“And access to the market is not just access to the market by having customers but being able to market to those customers to allow them to keep on coming through the door. That’s part of the benefit,” he said at the time.
Proposed looming implantation of frequency caps in Australia comes with neighboring New Zealand having last week announced it would for the first time license online casinos under a landmark move designed to minimize harm, support tax collection and provide consumer protections to citizens.
Licensed operators will be allowed to advertise with strict limits, the government explained, but will not be allowed to provide sponsorships to sporting teams or venues.
