Industry reaction to the Australian parliamentary inquiry into gambling

On 28 June, the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs laid out a 31-point plan to help mitigate the potential negative impacts of gambling on Australians. 

The committee published this list of recommendations as part of its “You win some, you lose more” inquiry. 

The headline recommendation of the report is a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising within three years, with the committee outlining four tranches in which they should be introduced. 

Firstly, there will be a prohibition on offers and advertising across social media and online platforms, as well as during news and current affairs broadcasts. This first phase also includes the banning of ads during school drop-off and pick-up times.

The next phase would be to ban all online gambling advertising and commentary on odds an hour before, after and during sports broadcasts, as well as on teams’ kits and in the stadium. 

The third phase would introduce a ban across all broadcast advertising between 6.30am and 10pm, with a complete 24-hour ban on all gambling advertising and sponsorship to be in place by the end of the final year.

The inquiry also recommended a series of radical changes alongside this total ban. 

These include developing a new comprehensive national strategy for online gambling harm reduction, backed up by national regulation, and establishing a new national gambling regulator to reduce harm.

This new strategy should include an online gambling ombudsman, a harm-reduction levy on online operators, a public education campaign with more independent research and improved data collection.

The committee also recommended a crackdown on illegal operators and stronger consumer protections from licensed firms, such as requiring operators to verify a customer’s identity before accepting a bet.

EGR spoke to several gambling industry heads to gauge their reaction to the report’s recommendations.

Barni Evans, CEO of Sportsbet

“We understand changing sentiment on advertising, and we made that very clear during the inquiry. We believe an approach that significantly reduces the number of ads rather than complete bans would respond to community concerns while still supporting sport and media.

“It is important that any changes in regulation recognise that gambling is a lawful form of entertainment enjoyed responsibly by millions of Australians. We will continue to work constructively with the government and all parties to encourage evidence-based solutions that are effective.”

Tim Costello, chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform

“There is absolutely a need for a national strategy to combat the profound gambling harm that is being wrought in communities across Australia. Each year, gambling rips A$25bn (£13.07bn) in losses out of our communities. The harm is profound. Individuals, families and communities are devastated. And the harm is not just financial; this is a major public health issue that is a cause devastating harm to people’s health and in many cases, it leads to people taking their own lives.

“The committee has rightly recognised that this is a public health issue, and greater government leadership and resourcing must be devoted to introducing stricter regulations as well as funding prevention and public education campaigns and services to help people who are suffering gambling harm.

“The proposed gambling ban is no different to that imposed on tobacco. The major sporting codes cried foul then, but they survived. They found other sponsors. It is only more recently that our sporting codes have become addicted to gambling advertising and sponsorship; we must break this addiction for the good of their games and for the greater good of society. We have done it before, and we can do it again.”

Jamie Nettleton, gambling partner at Addisons

“The recommendation of particular note is the suggestion that a national regulator be established to be responsible for the regulation and licensing of all online betting.  Apart from Australia’s current online betting licensing regime (at the State and Territory level) being made largely redundant, this is likely to result in many of the revenues generated from online betting which are paid to State and Territory revenue authorities and racing/sporting bodies, being subject to review. The wholesale prohibition of online gambling advertising is also likely to affect significantly the revenues of media stakeholders and other parties, which earn currently substantial monies from betting operators through the replacement of advertising materials.

“The underlying premise of the report is to minimise online betting harm. It is suggested that the measures taken to minimise harm from tobacco, which have been effective, did not have the significant adverse consequences predicted by interested parties in advance of the provisions coming into effect. Accordingly, it is suggested in the report that the objections made by affected stakeholders in relation to the adverse consequences of stricter controls on betting advertising should be considered in a similar light.

“There is no doubt that these recommendations will give rise to considerable debate.  Many of the proposed changes are consistent with measures implemented in various European countries to minimise gambling harm. For example, it is suggested that prohibitions on gambling advertising similar to those in effect in Spain and Italy be implemented in Australia while a data vault similar to that in place in Spain, Denmark and France be developed in which information relating to all online betting transactions be placed as a means to ensure appropriate steps are being taken to guard against gambling harm.”

Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia

“We recognise there is community concern in relation to ‘saturation’ gambling advertising which needs to be addressed and we are willing to work constructively with the government to make that happen. However, we are concerned that the committee’s recommendation to impose an outright ban on all advertising is not a proportionate response.

“There are a range of tools available to manage the delivery of ads online, and we would urge the government to give further thought to how these can best be utilised to reduce the volume of gambling advertising.

“In the current economic climate, any advertising restrictions will affect the industry’s ability to support the delivery of freely available content and services online. Outright bans will have a significant negative impact across the market.

“We are pleased that the government has indicated it will take time to consider the committee’s report before responding. We look forward to working with government to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved in a sustainable way.”