Australian Medical Association throws support behind blanket ad ban

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has joined a growing list of senior figures and representative bodies in calling for a blanket gambling ad ban in Australia.

The AMA is the peak representative body for doctors in Australia and has thrown its backing behind a total ban on ads, in line with recommendations from the late Labour MP Peta Murphy.

Murphy proposed a total ad ban in her You Win Some, You Lose Some parliamentary report last summer, however little progress has been made in the time since publication.

Media reports at the start of August claimed the current Albanese government is now considering a cap system.

This has been met with fierce criticism from former prime ministers and health officials who urged the government in an open letter to implement Murphy’s 31-point report which called for adverts to be phased out over the next three years.

Professor Steve Robson, AMA president, has said a total ban is needed or else Australians would not only be left vulnerable to gambling addiction, but the industry would continue to “exploit” any system that allows adverts.

He said: “Anything less than a comprehensive ban on online gambling advertising will do nothing to protect Australians falling into the grips of gambling addiction.

“If you give these betting companies any kind of wriggle room with advertisements, they will exploit it. We saw this with the vaping industry, and similar scenes are now playing out with gambling.”

Those comments appeared in an AMA blogpost today, 22 August, in which the body called on the federal government to implement a blank ban.

The AMA published a similar statement yesterday, 21 August, in which Robson also argued for the implementation of the policy.

Yesterday, Robson said the Australian public must be prioritised over profit and the government must ignore pressure from the gambling industry.

Robson said: “The government cannot afford to place the profits of large corporations ahead of Australian communities, particularly socially and economically disadvantaged communities, where the impacts of problem gambling are most pronounced.

“Australians have a very special connection with sport, but with every bounce of a ball, every blow of a whistle, there are numerous online gambling ads bombarding viewers, many of whom are young and easily influenced.

“We are urging the federal government to resist industry pressure and listen to the unanimous recommendations of the inquiry commissioned by the parliament.”

In additional comments to ABC Radio, Robson reiterated that a blanket gambling ad ban is needed in order to protect those vulnerable to gambling harms while highlighting the unhealthy relationship between sport and online gambling.

“What we want to make sure is people who are vulnerable don’t have advertising rammed down their throats, particularly vulnerable and very impressionable young Australians.

“The advertising during sporting events is so insidious because you have that capacity to link online gambling to something that ought to be healthy.”

However, government figures have argued against Robson’s position, including Labour MP Bill Shorten.

Shorten said free-to-air TV would be in “diabolical trouble” without the funds generated from gambling advertising.

While earlier this week, think tank Australian Institute suggested a 2% levy could be implemented on gambling companies’ revenue to compensate for the reported A$240m (£123.3m) media firms would miss out on should a ban come into effect.