Australian government reportedly leaning towards watered-down gambling ad restrictions

The new measure has been criticised by anti-gambling advocates, who are pushing for an all-out ban.

Australia.- Communications minister Michelle Rowland is reportedly considering implementing a limit on TV gambling ads rather than a total ban as recommended in a report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs led by Labor MP Peta Murphy.

Media reports suggest that TV ads would be allowed with limits. Each TV channel would be allowed to show a maximum of two ads per hour until 10pm. Ads would not be allowed in the hour before a live sporting event, and there would be a total ban on betting ads on social media and other online platforms where it is not easy to enforce a cap.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has suggested that the reports may not be accurate, saying “don’t believe everything you read in the paper”. He said the government will announce its preferred solution in due course. However, the reports have sparked criticism from anti-gambling advocates and opposition parties who urged the government to respect the recommendation for a total ban.

Martin Thomas, chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said: “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 per cent.”

Reverend Tim Costello, chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, added: “If the reports are true this decision just underlined the power of the gambling lobby and its allies and those interests have trumped the concerns of most Australians.

“I met with the Prime Minister once last year and with the Communications Minister only twice, but apparently this government continues to engage frequently with the gambling lobby and those who profit from the proliferation of gambling advertisements.”

The Greens communications spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, told The Guardian: “Nothing less than a plan to eliminate all broadcast and online gambling advertising is good enough. It is only the corporate giants profiting off human suffering from the insidious gambling industry that support gambling ads. The Greens are ready to vote for a complete ban when parliament returns.”