January 28, 2025 3 min read

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NSW Bans Gambling Ads from Public Transport and Stations

The NSW government announced that it will collaborate with multiple advertising contract holders to implement the changes

New South Wales has moved to ban gambling ads on public transport as the Australian state seeks to tackle gambling harm. The country has been struggling with significant addiction rates, prompting calls for reforms and stricter regulation.

The Government Wants to Make Gambling Ads Less Prominent

Liquor and Gaming NSW confirmed that the Minns Goverment has approved a ban on gambling adds that would apply to Transport-owned and controlled assets. The ban applies to advertising on trains, light rail and buses, as well as stations and ferry terminals.

Under the new rule, ads promoting casino, lottery and iGaming products will be prohibited from appearing across Transport-owned assets.

Lawmakers argued that the state-owned transport agency operates the broadest advertising asset portfolio in Australia and can therefore reach many vulnerable groups. For context, the company has 798 advertising boards at Sydney train stations alone. In addition to that, Transport has 49 road-facing billboards and dverts on up to 3,711 urban busses, 76 trams and across Tangara trains.

In addition to gambling ads, public transport services will also be prohibited from displaying political advertising.

The Ban Will Take Time to Implement

The NSW government announced that it will collaborate with multiple advertising contract holders to implement the changes. The full ban is expected to come into effect within 12 months.

The government will make sure that Transport’s advertising suppliers are compliant with the new laws and abide with industry codes, such as the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Advertiser Code of Ethics and AANA Code of Ethics Practice Note.

Bus stops and outlets that are not owned by Transport will necessitate additional action. The government will therefore reach out to relevant entities and work to align their ads with the new rule set.

Lawmakers Welcomed the Measure

The new ban was praised by minister for transport Jo Haylen who noted that gambling ads had become commonplace. He emphasized that parents have been “rightly worried” about the impact of such adverts on kids, which is why the issue had to be addressed.

Haylen, however, noted that the ban would take some time to implement.

With over 3,500 buses, close to 800 advertising assets at train stations, as well as advertising on light rail and trains, Transport’s advertising contracts are vast. Because of the scale it will take some time to implement this change, but we will be working closely with our contract partners over the next 12 months to get this done.

Jo Haylen

Minister for gaming and racing David Harris praised the Minns government for its continued efforts to reduce gambling harm in the state.

This move will reduce the public’s exposure to gambling advertising and build on the suite of reforms the government has introduced over the past 20 months to reduce harmful impacts of gambling.

David Harris

The new ban aligns with NSW’s efforts to tackle harmful gambling. Other initiatives have included reducing the gaming machine entitlement cap, banning political donations from clubs with gaming machines, reducing the deposit limit on new machines, banning external gambling signage and signage visible from ATM or EFTPOS terminals and introducing cash terminal placement rules.

In addition to that, the government set aside $100 million for harm minimization and established an independent panel to test cashless solutions throughout NSW.

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Angel has a passion for all forms of writing, be it fiction or nonfiction. His curious nature gives him an ace up his sleeve when researching a new topic. Angel’s thirst for knowledge, paired with adaptability, always helps him find his way around.

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