The NSW state government will ban gambling advertising on public transport around the state in its latest move to limit exposure to gambling products.
According to details announced earlier this week, the ban will apply to all state-owned and controlled assets, including both internal and external advertising on trains, metro, buses, light rail, train stations and ferry terminals. It covers casino, lottery and online betting advertising.
The government noted that its Transport for NSW agency operates 798 advertising boards at Sydney train stations, plus 49 road facing digital billboards, adverts on up to 3,711 urban buses, 76 trams and across the Tangara train fleet.
The ban will be implemented slowly over the course of the next 12 months.
Where assets are not owned by Transport, such as bus stops, retail outlets or nearby private property, the NSW Government said it will work with relevant entitles to see how their advertising can align with the gambling advertising ban.
“Gambling advertising has been a common sight on our public transport for a couple of years now, and I’m pleased our government is taking action to remove it,” said Minister for Transport Jo Haylen.
“Parents are rightly worried about the impact it has on their kids, so its not something that we think that needs to be on our transport network.
“With over 3,500 buses, close to 800 advertising assets at train stations, as well as advertising on light rail and trains, Transport’s advertising contracts are vast. Because of the scale it will take some time to implement this change, but we will be working closely with our contract partners over the next 12 months to get this done.”
The ban is the latest in a raft of gambling-related policy changes that have been introduced over the past two years, with the NSW Government also noting this week that new laws regarding ATMs and EFTPOS machines near gaming machines will be enforced from next month.
Under these new rules, which came into force on 1 January but with a one-month grace period for compliance, machines that allow cash withdrawals must be placed at least five meters from the entry to a gaming room and not be visible from any machine or entry to a gaming room.
Other reforms put in place in recent times include a reduction in the statewide gaming machine entitlement cap, banning political donations from clubs with electronic gaming machines, reducing the cash input limit on new gaming machines from AU$5,000 to AU$500, and banning all external gambling signage in venues.
