Australia has finally unveiled gambling reforms that will include limits on how many adverts can be aired per hour, as well as a blanket ban during live sports broadcasts.
The reforms were confirmed by the Labor government on Thursday, 2 April, and are due to come into effect from 1 January 2027.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced TV gambling ads will be restricted to no more than three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm.
A complete ad ban during live sport broadcasts within that window will also be implemented.
Furthermore, ads will not be allowed to appear in sports venues and on players’ or officials’ jerseys and uniforms.
Celebrities and sports stars will also be barred from appearing in commercials.
Radio ads during school drop-off and pick-up times (8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm) will likewise be banned.
Online has been targeted, too, with ads outlawed on platforms unless users are logged in to an account and are over 18. Consumers will also have the option to opt out of being served gambling ads online.
The changes come almost three years after the late Labour MP Peta Murphy published her ‘You Win Some, You Lose More’ report in 2023.
Murphy’s 31-point recommendation plan included a call for a blanket ad ban to be phased in over three years, as well as inducements such as sign-up bonuses to be prohibited.
She also suggested government-funded public awareness campaigns highlighting gambling-related harms and the establishment of a national regulator.
Alongside the ad restrictions, the Albanese government said it will work to implement some of the proposals in the Murphy Report.
Those include a “crackdown on harmful and emerging online lottery products” and making match-fixing a criminal office.
The government has pledged to “boost enforcement” against offshore operators, strengthen national self-exclusion scheme BetStop and ramp up efforts on public awareness.
Critics argue the government has taken too long to implement Murphy’s recommendations.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has been particularly vocal, while some Labor MPs have also expressed dissatisfaction with the process.
Reacting to the government’s plans, the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief advocate, Tim Costello, said they fall short of the Murphy Report.
He remarked: “If as the prime minister has said, his government wants to minimise children’s exposure to wagering advertising, these initiatives won’t work. Such a piecemeal approach fails our children.”
Responsible Wagering Australia, the trade body representing the likes of bet365 and Flutter-owned Sportsbet, said the regulations would drive offshore growth.
The group claimed: “If the licensed market is overregulated, Australians won’t stop gambling. They will go offshore to operators with no consumer protections, no oversight and no contribution to the Australian economy, sport or racing.”
Prime Minister Albanese said: “The government is taking decisive action to tackle the community and public health concerns associated with gambling.
“We’re getting the balance right here. Letting adults have a punt if they want to but also making sure Australian children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look.
“What we don’t want is kids growing up thinking that footy and gambling are the same thing.”
The post Australia unveils gambling ad reforms despite black market warning first appeared on EGR Intel.
Labor government announces a cap on ads per hour and a blackout around live sports, yet reformists argue the restrictions fall short of the 2023 Murphy Report
The post Australia unveils gambling ad reforms despite black market warning first appeared on EGR Intel.