But now to Australia’s online gambling addiction and it’s not just the punters who are hooked:

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL: Your Aussie sports sure are built different, just like the Points Bet app. It’s faster, easier, unique markets, better offers.

– YouTube, PointsBet ad, 29 August, 2022

That was NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal encouraging you to gamble your money away. And he’s not alone. 

Free-to-air TV pumps out nearly half-a-million ads a year for online gambling, or an incredible 1,200 ads a day across all the channels and different markets:

VOICEOVER: Now is the best time in sport with the best app in sport, TAB, we’re on. 

– TAB ad, Ten Network, 4 September, 2024

And if you add in radio and pay-TV, and mid-program plugs, there are many, many more, with Australians now losing an average $1,635 per adult each year, according to the Grattan Institute, more than anyone else in the world.

So, it’s no great surprise that a parliamentary inquiry last year recommended unanimously that online betting ads be banned from our computers and TV screens:

SARAH ABO: Online gambling ads could be phased out in three years following an inquiry into its impacts. A new report handed down today found children are being groomed to gamble by ads and videogames …

– Today, Nine Network, 28 June, 2023

That inquiry last June was led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, who found cross-party support for a total ban and claimed the public also wanted one, telling Channel Nine:

PETA MURPHY: … Australians hate gambling ads and they particularly hate gambling ads being directed at their children.

– Today, Nine Network, 28 June, 2023

And last week a RedBridge poll confirmed that verdict, with 72 per cent of Australians saying they supported a total ban. 

So, with MPs and voters on board, why hasn’t it happened? Answer: it’s not just the  punters who are addicted. TV networks are too:

PETER OVERTON: The future of free-to-air television and sport in Australia could be in serious jeopardy if a total ban on gambling advertising is introduced …

– Nine News (Sydney), 13 August, 2024

Yes, the commercial TV networks would face a big revenue hit if gambling ads were banned, and the government is not game to take them on.

With Nine Newspapers’ Paul Sakkal revealing a leaked plan last month to ban the ads on social media and online, but merely cut them back on TV:

… Labor proposes a cap of two gambling ads per hour on each channel until 10pm, and banning ads an hour before and after live sport …

– Sunday Age, 4 August, 2024

And Labor Minister Bill Shorten was soon out on Q+A to tell us why the government could not go the whole hog:

BILL SHORTEN: We got ourselves in this wicked situation where now some of the free-to-air media need gambling ad revenue at any time in order just to stay afloat.

– Q+A, ABC, 12 August, 2024

And other Labor ministers were then echoing his concerns:

KATY GALLAGHER: We’re coming to a point in time where the ability for free to air broadcasters is really being challenged and so any responsible government would need to take that into consideration.

– ABC News Channel, 13 August, 2024

Four weeks on, we’re told an announcement is imminent. 

And all the signs are that the TV networks have stopped an all-out ban from going ahead. For the moment at least. 

But, would such a ban really be a mortal blow?

Veteran anti-gambling campaigner, Tim Costello, says no:

TIM COSTELLO: I think what we are seeing is crying wolf. In Italy, Spain, Netherlands where they banned gambling ads, the broadcasters said ‘oh it’ll be terrible’, they’ve all done OK. The sport codes said ‘oh it would be terrible’ – they’ve all done OK. Just like what happened with tobacco which is why we should treat it like tobacco.

– ABC News Channel, 13 August, 2024

So, should the government be braver?  

A recent audit by the ACMA found TV ads for gambling were worth $162 million a year, but that’s estimated to be only six per cent of the total $3.2 billion annual TV ad spend.

Nevertheless, industry lobby group Free TV warns that regional broadcasters are already on the brink and claims the revenue is irreplaceable.

With Seven’s chief executive Jeff Howard blaming falling ad revenue across the TV industry last month as he announced a 69 per cent drop in profits, telling The Australian:

“Our share of that decline was $100m. So it’s a pretty big hurdle to start with when you’re looking at how we run this business.”

– The Australian, 14 August, 2024

But the government has also been under pressure to hang tough, with former Liberal PM John Howard joining Malcolm Turnbull and former state premiers in calling for a total ban:

JOHN HOWARD: ‘Gambling losses are responsible for enormous harm across the community’.

– Nine News (Sydney), 10 August, 2024

And recently even the founder of betting giant Paddy Power was telling the ABC a total ban is the way to go:

STEWART KENNY: If the politicians and the government want to protect children they’ll go ahead with that ban, if they want to protect wealthy bookmakers’ profits they will go ahead with a partial ban.

– RN Breakfast, ABC, 19 August, 2024

We should find out this week which way the government has jumped. But don’t forget a federal election is due next year. 

And we’d be amazed if the government is brave enough to pick a fight with Australia’s powerful media companies in the run-up to the poll. 

So, it seems those ads will still be on your screens.