71% of Australians agree that TV gambling ads should be banned
The Australia Institute has carried out a survey on whether television advertising for certain products should be allowed.
Australia.- The Australia Institute has published the results of a new poll that found that seven in 10 Australians (71 per cent) believe that gambling ads on TV should be banned. The 1,003 Australians surveyed also largely agreed that junk food advertising should be banned during children’s programming.
Respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with five statements about advertising on TV:
- Ads for junk food should be banned during children’s viewing hours.
- Gambling advertisements should be banned on Australian television.
- Television advertisements promoting alcohol should be banned in Australia.
- The advertising of fossil fuels on Australian television should be banned.
- Advertisements for tobacco on Australian television should remain banned.
A majority of Australians of all voting intentions agreed that gambling ads on TV should be banned, with agreement highest among Independent/Other, Greens and Labor voters (72 – 79 per cent).
In Australia, ads for betting products are not permitted during TV programmes classified G or lower between 6am and 8.30am and 4pm and 7 pm, or in programmes directed at children between 5am and 8.30pm. Until 2018, these restrictions excluded sports broadcasts.
However, in May, a report from the Nielsen institute revealed that gambling ads shown on TV in the state of Victoria had increased by 253 per cent since 2016. An average of 948 gambling ads were broadcast daily on free-to-air TV in Victoria in 2021.
In April, Dr Aino Suomi, director of the Centre for Gambling Research at the Australian National University released a study about gambling behaviours that found almost 200,000 Australian children are exposed to moderate or serious levels of harmful gambling by a parent each year.
