Australian government set to snub blanket ban on gambling ads in favour of cap system
Labour Party reported plans met with frustration from MPs, lobbyists and sporting codes more than 12 months after Peta Murphy’s initial 31-point plan to eradicate gambling advertising
Gambling adverts are expected to remain on Australian television for several years with the Labour government reportedly set to stop short of a blanket ban.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Anthony Albanese’s administration has proposed a cap of two gambling adverts per hour on each channel until 10pm as well as a total ban one hour before and after all live sport.
However, while the proposal is more relaxed than the one pitched by the late Labour MP Peta Murphy, this latest plan will still impose a blanket ban on all gambling advertisements on social media and other digital platforms.
The plans have been devised by communications minister Michelle Rowland. Though they are yet to go to cabinet and are therefore still subject to change, they have been met with ire from various stakeholders.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, one source said: “It’s a position that’ll p**s everyone off because the purists won’t get a ban and will still see ads on TV, but the sports and media companies will lose a big chunk of money.”
The reported plans have been met with criticism from the Alliance for Gambling Reform, with the reform lobbyists arguing that limiting the number of betting adverts shown is not a drastic enough measure.
Martin Thomas, the group’s CEO, explained: “We hope these reports are not true. The government still has time to do the right thing to ban all gambling ads.
“Certainly, a proposed ban on social media gambling advertising is a step in the right direction. Perversely, this move to put limited restrictions on gambling advertising could actually make the situation worse.
“We know this is a real risk after similar rule changes in 2017 saw the total volume of gambling advertising in primetime spots on metro television increased by 40%.”
Independent MPs have also lambasted the plans and said that should the measures be put in place, they would tarnish the aims set out by Murphy.
An official update regarding the proposal from the Australian government is expected in the coming weeks.
The update will come a little more than 12 months after Murphy, who died in December 2023, chaired a parliamentary inquiry that recommended a ban on all gambling advertisements across television, radio, newspapers and online within three years.
The current government has been under pressure to follow through with her plans as a nod to her legacy, with some even suggesting the new legislation be called ‘Murphy’s law’.
However, a blanket ban has received vocal opposition from gambling companies, sporting codes and media organisations, many of whom have business models heavily reliant on revenue generated by betting advertisements.
The likes of News Corp, Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media all previously stated that a blanket ban on gambling advertisement would cost each company jobs.
The current law means that gambling adverts are banned from five minutes before a sporting contest until five minutes after it has concluded, in place from 5am to 8.30pm.
The debate surrounding gambling advertisement remains a particularly prominent one within the Australian sporting sectors.
In June, PointsBet Australia CEO Andrew Catterall claimed some forms of gambling sponsorship “are no longer appropriate” as the operator declined to renew its stadium sponsorship rights deal with National Rugby League side, the Cronulla Sharks.
Catterall also cited the fact that he expects the government to outline a new gambling advertising regime in the coming months.
“We will continue our long-term support for the Sharks through a different partnership arrangement,” he added.
“Any new agreement will align with the expectations of the wider community under what we anticipate to be a reformed national gambling regime.”
Prime Minister Albanese previously insisted he aims to honour Murphy’s legacy and is of the belief that the rate of gambling advertisement should be reduced.
However, he appears to have always been reluctant to enforce a full-scale ban, claiming in February that the government still had work that needed to be done.
He said: “I myself have met with people like Tim Costello [Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate] about these issues, and we’re working through them to make sure that any action doesn’t have unintended consequences because that’s what good governments do.”