Australian Government Criticized over New Gambling Ad Limits
The Australian Government has signalled that following a review of the current gambling legislation, it will propose to limit the number of gambling advertisements on television.
Australian Government reported to favor cap on gambling ads.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The decision being taken in contrast to the proposed total ban implementation outlined in the earlier recommendations. Currently, gambling companies are free to advertise during daytime hours which are defined as between 5 am and 8:30 pm. Additionally, there is a five-minute period on either side of a televised sporting event where no gambling adverts are permitted.
In 2023, Labor MP Peta Murphy led a gambling review that made 31 recommendations, which included phasing out gambling ads completely. It had been a widely held view the authorities in the country would adopt these proposals.
The Australian Government apparently favors a cap on Gambling Ads on television platforms, which will see a gambling operator allowed to advertise a maximum of two times per hour during daytime hours. There will also be no gambling advertising allowed in the half hour before and after a televised sporting event. However, it does support the planned total ban on all gambling advertisements on all social media platforms.
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Gambling Reform Organizations Are Concerned
Members of groups that represent gambling reform organizations have raised concerns that the new proposals do not go far enough, and some believe the changes could actually make the situation worse.
They have broadly welcomed the changes that would see a blanket ban on gambling adverts on social media platforms, as this is in line with the recommendations. However, they say that the new limits would be a half-hearted attempt to regulate advertising by gambling companies and feel the government is backtracking on its previous statements.
In response to criticism from gambling harm organizations, the Australian government points to the introduction of a gambling self-exclusion register.
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 percent.
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