Australian think tank calls for 2% levy to cover costs of blanket betting ad ban
The Australia Institute believes a new revenue tax Down Under would cover the estimated $240m loss in advertising income for media organisations
An Australian think tank has called for a 2% levy on gambling companies’ revenue in a bid to compensate for the reported A$240m media organisations would lose if there was a blanket ban on betting advertising.
The suggestion comes after the Albanese Labour government looks set to fail to back a proposal pitched by late MP Peta Murphy to ban all gambling advertisements.
Instead, reports have suggested the government will implement a cap system that will see a maximum two adverts per hour until 10pm.
In turn, the Australia Institute has proposed a levy that the body has claimed would cost the industry less than A$250m dollars per year.
Stephen Long, a senior fellow at the think tank, claimed that “a 2% levy on the gambling industry, which represents a tiny fraction of the money lost on wagering, could compensate the media for any lost revenue resulting from a gambling ads ban”.
Between 2022 and 2023, Australian gambling company revenues totalled $17.2bn dollars, as per the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
That figure has played a part in the think tank’s verdict that a levy of just 1.4% could make up the $240m spent on free-to-air TV, radio and online advertising.
The organisation continued by noting if the proposed levy figure was rounded up to 2%, not only would the money cover the losses of a blanket ad ban, but also help replace money the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) has lost in budget cuts.
Long explained that from the media’s perspective, a 2% levy represents something greater than a “win-win”.
Long said: “Such a levy would cost the gambling industry less than a quarter of a billion dollars a year. That’s a tiny fraction of the money lost on wagering.
“Free-to-air networks could sell the advertising slots the gambling companies occupied to other businesses while pocketing the levy as well, producing a revenue bonanza.
“The main thing is that, for everyone but the gambling interests, this is a winning bet. Politically, it’s definitely worth a punt, with good odds that it would be a vote-winner.”
Operators in Australia are currently subject to point of consumption taxes in each state, with Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania all setting a 15% rate.
The argument from Australia Institute also outlines how a ban on gambling advertising would allow those same free-to-air networks to sell advertising spaces to other sectors that have been squeezed out by gambling companies.
The Australia Institute’s proposal follows claims from Labour government figure, Bill Shorten, that Australian broadcasters would be in “diabolical trouble” without gambling ad revenue.
The update from Australia Institute comes just one week after an open letter was sent to the Labour government, signed by 74 individuals including two ex-Prime Ministers in John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, accusing gambling operators of “grooming our kids”.
The letter, which was also signed by a host of individual and Green MPs, urged a blanket gambling ad ban, claiming gambling addiction sparks A$25bn in annual losses alongside “partner violence, family break-up and suicide”.