ACMA Publishes Gambling Advertising in Australia Report

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) published its Gambling Advertising in Australia: Placement and Spending report, outlining the persistence of gambling ads in the country during the twelve-month period between May 2022 and April 2023.

The report notably shows that over a million gambling ads have been aired on free-to-air TV and metro radio during that period.

Leveraging Nielsen Advertising intel data, the ACMA reported that 50% (502,800) of the ads came from companies offering licensed online gambling services. In the meantime, 51% (256,200) of the ads aired on metro free-to-air television were ads advertising the services of online gambling providers.

Additionally, the ACMA pointed out that another 20% of the ads on metro free-to-air TV promoted lottery companies (99,500), while another 17% (84,000) promoted lottos.

For comparison, 58% (196,400) of the gambling ads on regional free-to-air TV were by online operators. Lottery and lotto adverts comprised 16% (52,600) and 15% (49,600) of the total number of ads aired on regional free-to-air television, respectively.

The ACMA added that 16% of all gambling adverts appeared on metro radio with 31% of them (50,200) advertising online casino companies.

Operators Spent Millions on Ads

According to the ACMA, the period between May 2022 and April 2023 saw the industry spend a whopping $151.7 million on gambling advertising. The majority of this money (64%) was spent by gambling operators. In the meantime, lottery companies spent 12% of the total money, followed by land-based gambling operators at 9%.

Lotto, racing and other gambling companies spent 8%, 3% and 4% of the total sum, respectively.

Metro TV remained the operators’ preferred platform to advertise their services. The ACMA’s Gambling Advertising in Australia: Placement and Spending report shows that 56%/$133 million of all the marketing spend was on metro TV advertising. In the meantime, social media marketing spend sat at 15%/34.6 million. Regional TV advertising and metro radio advertising were up next with 12%/$29 million and 9%/22.4 million respectively. Finally, $19.5 million was spent on general display adverts.

In the wake of Australia’s new laws on gambling advertising, the majority of TV ads appeared between 9 pm and 10 pm.

In other news, the ACMA recently issued a formal warning to Best Bookies, which offered a service that constituted illegal gambling under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Following the warning, the gambling company took down the service in question.