For decades, Australian sport has been closely associated with gambling advertisements. However, all that is about to change with the introduction of Australian Government gambling ad reforms.
What are the gambling ad reforms?
The recent gambling ad reforms have been in the works since a parliamentary inquiry in 2023. This inquiry released 31 recommendations as part of a report titled ‘You Win Some, You Lose More’, and it’s this report on which the new gambling reforms are based.
The reforms aim to reduce children and young people’s exposure to gambling ads, and to break the close association of sports and gambling. But, rather than a total ban on online gambling advertising, as originally proposed in the report, the recent reforms are introducing a partial ban, which includes:
- Capping TV ads from betting agencies to three per hour, and completely banning gambling ads from any live sports broadcast between 6:00 am – 8:30 pm.
- Banning celebrity and sports players from appearing in gambling ads.
- Banning gambling ads on the radio during school drop-off and pick-up times.
- Banning gambling ads on online platforms, unless people are logged into an account, are over 18, and have the option to opt-out.
- Outlawing gambling ads in sports venues and on players’ official uniforms.
These reforms will come into effect from 1 January, 2027.
How could these reforms impact the industry?
It’s still too soon to tell if these reforms will have a significant financial impact on the gambling industry, but it’s likely they won’t. An Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) report released by the Australian Government suggests Australian spending on gambling will decrease by only 0.8% as a result of these reforms.
The short-term impact will likely be felt more strongly by the sporting codes and media companies that currently rely so heavily on gambling ads. The NRL, for example, will need to source new sponsors for their stadiums and uniforms, and media companies will need to source new advertisers for their broadcasts. Insights from Nielsen Ad Intel revealed that between May 2022 and April 2023, the gambling industry spent $238.63 million advertising on free-to-air TV, radio and social media. These gambling reforms mean that media companies will lose a significant amount of income, and that they’ll be looking to replace their lost advertisers as quickly as possible.
The future of sports advertising
The future of sports advertising will likely look very different when the reforms come into effect. With the reforms designed to reduce harm to young people, we’ll likely see sporting codes and sports broadcast media companies align with more family-friendly industries, such as renewable energy or even health-focused companies.
With the loss of live betting statistics mid-match, we could also see a rise in marketing content designed to engage sports fans and build brand loyalty, such as fan experiences.
But whatever happens as a result of the reforms, it will disrupt the sports marketing industry and traditional media landscape as we know it.
