Updated December 09, 2019 00:59:37

1. This Code has been adopted by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) as part of advertising and marketing self-regulation. The object of this Code is to ensure that advertisers and marketers develop and maintain a high sense of social responsibility in advertising and marketing wagering products in Australia.
2. New South Wales cracking down. The province of New South Wales in Australia bans gambling advertising. Under the New South Wales Betting and Racing Act, it is an offense to issue “a gambling advertisement that offers any inducement to participate, or participate frequently, in any gambling activity (including an inducement to open a betting account).”.
3. Australia is one of those countries in which there is no entity with the overall power over gambling regulations. It is regulated at Federal Level with certain statutes, but also at the State or Territory level.

Stewart Kenny was one of the pioneers of modern sports betting, but he has lingering regrets about his three decades in the industry.

Complaints about other gambling advertising. In Australia, gambling operators that seek to legitimately advertise their products and services are subject to a comprehensive framework of Codes, regulations and legislation. For more information on these regulations see the gambling advertising page.

'If I could live my life again, you know, I would have been more proactive on a gambling addiction,' he says.

'I should have seen the harm from gambling addiction much earlier than I did. And must take some of the blame.'

As a co-founder and chief executive of the gambling giant Paddy Power he was a driving force behind the company's success. But he walked away from the company in 2016.

'I resigned from Paddy Power because the industry was doing absolutely nothing, in my view, about gambling addiction.'

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The Irishman believes sports betting is not as dangerous as poker machines or casino games.

He campaigned to prevent poker machines being introduced in Ireland and says Australia's addiction to pokies is why it loses more money from gambling than any other country in the world.

'Looking at addiction, it is Australia that you go to first to see what happens when it all goes wrong.'

While Kenny was still a non-executive director of the company Paddy Power also had skin in the game in Australia, acquiring local brand Sportsbet in 2012.

When it comes to sports betting Mr Kenny wants to see more regulation of the industry to help limit losses from problem gamblers.

'The vital thing is to make the product slightly less addictive and safer. There are voluntary deposit limits. But in my view, they should be mandatory, so everybody who opens up an account has to nominate the maximum they will deposit in a day.'

The former gambling company executive has a stark warning for the industry.

'If they don't curb some of their products. Then I think they will become toxic and they will get a stench off them like the tobacco industry.'

Kids need to realise 'advertising doesn't go naturally with sport'

Stewart Kenny is at heart a marketing man.

Paddy Power became one of the most successful bookmakers in Europe off the back of its cheeky advertising campaigns.

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But he believes the industry is causing harm to children with its blanket advertising.

'The vital thing is that it's not normalised with children. That they realise that advertising doesn't go naturally with sport,' he said.

'You can play sport. You can enjoy sport. You don't have to bet on every sport. I love gambling. Don't get me wrong.'

Stewart Kenny was a relatively late convert to this view about the harms of gambling advertising and says he was influenced by the work of Deakin University academic Associate Professor Samantha Thomas and her team.

Their 2017 research showed that 75 per cent of 8-16-year-olds thought gambling was a normal or common part of sport.

'The majority of children in our research studies can recall the names of gambling companies, can tell us the colours of gambling brands, and match specific promotions styles with brands,' Dr Thomas said.

'There is also evidence that some of the promotions used by these companies, such as cash back or refund offers, are creating a perception for young people that gambling has little or no risk attached to it.'

Last year regulations came into force that prohibited gambling advertising during live sports broadcasts between 5am and 8.30PM.

However, gambling ads can still be broadcast before and after matches.

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The same rules apply to the promotion of betting odds.

They can only be referred to up to five minutes before the scheduled start of play and five minutes after, if it's before 8:30PM.

Dr Thomas says these measures don't go far enough.

'Our research clearly shows that the current regulatory systems for gambling advertising are ineffective,' she said.

'There is now robust evidence that young people are exposed to gambling advertising and promotions across many different types of media platforms.'

'Young people are highly critical of the ubiquity of gambling promotions, and the potential risks that these promotions pose for young people. They believe that more should be done by governments and sporting organisations to protect them.'

'When young people are given the opportunity to have a say about gambling, most think that sporting codes should do more to protect them from being exposed to gambling ads.'

Pressure on Cricket Australia to ban betting ads

Cricket Australia has a commercial relationship with bet365, the company at the centre of allegations published by ABC Investigations this week around secret techniques to restrict successful punters while allowing problem gamblers to keep losing.

Cricket Australia describes the global betting giant as a 'gold' partner and during matches its ads and odds are everywhere.

Bet365 has its logo on prominent parts of Australian cricket grounds, including the boundary rope, and on fences and advertising boards.

A spruiker for the company promotes the odds as part of the pay TV Test match coverage.

Cricket Australia's website is often emblazoned with bet365 advertising and it features prominently as the 'play of the day' sponsor on Cricket Australia's social media platforms.

The Reverend Tim Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform has called on Cricket Australia to drop its commercial partnership with bet365.

'Cricket all summer is a national delight — an inspiration from the bush to the beach,' Mr Costello said.

'Bet365 in our faces as one of the Aussie team sponsors is a national shame. It is normalising cricket and gambling and grooming our kids to bet all for immense profit flowing to a foreign private company.'

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts was unavailable for comment.

In an interview with SEN Radio during the second Test in Adelaide he said he respected Mr Costello's view, but they could not suddenly terminate a commercial relationship.

'The reality is we have an existing commercial arrangement so whether we need that or don't need that there's an existing arrangement in place and we have an obligation to honour that.'

He also confirmed that Cricket Australia had recently declined an opportunity to take up a sponsorship deal with a betting agency for the Big Bash League.

'There is an opening for ethical betting'

In the UK, around 60 per cent of football teams in the Premier League and in the next tier down, the Championship, have gambling sponsorships on their shirts.

The British Labour party has a policy to ban these gambling sponsorships.

It's a policy supported by Mr Kenny.

'I didn't use to think that. But I have reluctantly come to that belief now, that it probably does normalise it to children.'

Stewart Kenny says the industry could cope with strong regulation and still prosper.

'I still believe there is a huge future for the gambling industry to act responsibly and still make bucket loads of money,' he said.

'The industry is better off without the high addiction rates. It is not good for the long-term industry.

'I love betting and I believe there is an opening for ethical betting.'

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Gambling Advertising Regulations Australia Gold Coast

Topics:united-kingdom, australia

First posted December 08, 2019 06:23:40

Gambling advertising has increased rapidly over the past decade.

While smartphones, apps and social media have multiplied the marketing possibilities, a High Court decision in 2008 also played a major part in the dramatic increase in gambling advertising.

The effect of the ruling was to allow bookmakers to offer bets anywhere in Australia. The ruling also made it clear that states and territories were unlikely to be permitted to ban advertising from other parts of the country. The states and territories with bans, including Victoria, amended their legislation to remove them. The High Court case and subsequent ban removal resulted in a significant rise in the number of gambling companies operating across Australia, and a highly competitive market.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the gambling industry spent $273.2 million on advertising in Australia in 2018, up from $89.7 million in 2011. This excludes sponsorships and in-program content, such as during live sport broadcasts.

In September 2017, the Victorian Government announced a ban on betting advertising on roads and public transport, and within 150 metres of public schools. The laws apply to all static advertising, including on billboards and infrastructure like stations and bridges.

Mass media pokies advertising is also banned in Victoria. However, there is rising community concern about the proliferation of sports betting advertising on broadcast and digital media, particularly its effect on young people. Research findings substantiate this concern.

A Foundation-funded study – Extent of, and children and young people’s exposure to, gambling advertising in sport and non-sport TV – found that in 2016, there was an average of 374 gambling ads a day on Australian free-to-air TV. Two-thirds of these occurred between 6 am and 8:29 pm, when large numbers of young people were watching. There were around four times as many gambling ads an hour in sports programming than in non-sports programming.

374

gambling ads a day on Australian free-to-air TV in 2016.

Download image version of the infographic ' 374

gambling ads a day on Australian free-to-air TV in 2016.

'

x 4

Four times as many gambling ads an hour on free-to-air sports TV than on non-sports TV in 2016.

Download image version of the infographic ' x 4

Four times as many gambling ads an hour on free-to-air sports TV than on non-sports TV in 2016.

'

In Australia, ads for betting products are not permitted during TV programs classified G or lower from 6 to 8.30 am and 4 to 7 pm, or in programs directed at children between 5 am and 8.30 pm. Until 2018, these restrictions excluded sport broadcasts. On 30 March 2018, bans on gambling ads during broadcasts of live sport were introduced between 5 am and 8.30 pm. See the Australian Communications and Media Authority website for more: New gambling ad rules introduced.

On 28 September 2018, new complementary rules were also implemented to restrict gambling advertising during online streaming of live sport between 5 am and 8.30 pm.

The 2016 Foundation-funded study Child and parent recall of gambling sponsorship in Australian sport collected data from children and parents at community sporting venues in New South Wales and Victoria. Three-quarters of 8- to 16-year-olds interviewed could name at least one gambling brand, and one-quarter could name four or more.

The children interviewed also perceived that some forms of marketing were more influential than others, in particular, advertisements featuring celebrities. Funny videos that are not easily recognisable as advertising can also have a strong impact on children.

Another 2016 study reported that 75 per cent of 8- to 16-year-olds thought gambling was a normal or common part of sport. For more on this study, see ‘It's just everywhere!’ Children and parents discuss the marketing of sports wagering in Australia.

1 in 4

* Based on interviews with 152 children aged 8–16 attending community sporting venues

Download image version of the infographic ' 1 in 4 '

31 %

of Victorian secondary school students have gambled.

Download image version of the infographic ' 31 %

of Victorian secondary school students have gambled.

'

Participants in the 2016 studies were able to describe incentives offered by bookmakers, such as ‘bonus bet’ offers and ‘cash back’ deals, which likely contributed to their belief that you could not lose from gambling. This perception is not limited to young people. Incentives or inducements are a form of marketing used to attract new customers or to trigger further gambling. There is also evidence they can lead to people underestimating the risks they are taking.

A 2018 study funded by the Foundation investigated the effects of wagering marketing on vulnerable adults and found that many vulnerable bettors were heavily exposed to wagering marketing, which led them to place bigger and more frequent bets.

A follow-up study looking at direct texts and emails sent by wagering operators found this direct messaging to be extremely frequent and likely to contribute to risky gambling.

Gambling Advertising Regulations Australia Jobs

In 2019, the Foundation released research exploring gambling attitudes, behaviour and exposure among Victorian secondary school students, which found 31 per cent had gambled at some point in their lives, and six per cent had gambled in the previous 30 days. Just under three-quarters of all students had been aware of gambling advertisements or promotions on TV in the past month. This exposure was linked to increased likelihood of gambling.

Our Love the Game Sporting Club Program works with local and elite sporting clubs to reduce young people's exposure to sports betting advertising and counter the social norm of gambling in sport.

See some of our sporting hero partners talk about loving the game, not the odds:

Online Gambling Regulations In Usa

Our School Education Program supports secondary school communities to help young people develop informed attitudes to gambling.

Find out more about our work to address the normalisation of gambling at Love the game, not the odds.