Labor to Ban TV Gambling Ads In 2 Years and Place Immediate Online Ad Ban

According to Sky News, Australia’s government is busy working on important gambling reforms as Labor is trying to handle the current oversaturation of gambling ads.

TV Ads Could Be Halted Within Two Years 

For starters, TV gambling ads would be slapped with a ban within two years. Secondly, online gambling ads would be banned almost immediately under the fresh gambling reforms which are expected to soon reach the Cabinet. 

Sky News says that, as a result of the contract terms, TV bans would take close to two years to fully come into effect. 

Nonetheless, restrictions placed via federal government legislation changes could be imposed on sportsbooks a lot sooner, thus stopping them from placing online and social media ads.

Blanket Ad Ban and National Online Gambling Regulator, Off the Table

At the start of August, Anthony Albanese’s government reportedly proposed a cap on TV ads instead of a full-blown ban.

As per the new measure proposed by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, gambling ads would be capped at two per hour on each TV channel until 10 pm.

The same measure spoke about operators being prevented from airing their ads an hour before the start of a live sporting event while still banning gambling ads across online social media platforms where caps would be more complicated to implement.

According to Sky News, the blanket advertising ban recommended by a parliamentary committee led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy is no longer being regarded as a in the new reforms. 

Instead, the ban would be aimed at three main areas. The first one regards the massive number of gambling ads on the market. 

The second and third areas of concern would target children’s exposure to gambling ads and the airing of gambling ads during sporting events.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has been busy consulting with industry representatives on the advertising aspect, which will be included in the upcoming reforms soon to receive approval from the PM.

A great deal of the parliamentary committee report‘s recommendations are tackled by the Social Services Minister, Amanda Rishworth who informed Sky News that the idea of forming a national online gambling regulator would not see the light of day as talks with states and territories did not currently include the topic 

This took some of her colleagues off guard. Rishworth further explained discussions revolved around how to better “co-ordinate and move forward a unified effort when it comes to online gaming.”

Just last week, the Australian gambling addiction charity Self Help Addiction Resource Centre demanded the government implement a blanket ban on gambling ads. 

Similarly, at the end of August, the Australian Medical Association emphasized the Importance of banking online ads via a blanket ban.