Foxtel’s sports streaming service, Kayo, is in hot water with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after contravening gambling advertising rules that state gambling ads must not be streamed during live sport events between 5am and 8:30pm.

The rule extends to the five minutes before and after the sports event, with Kayo having been found to push gambling promotions during the May 2022 Fremantle V Collingwood AFL match, within the five minutes before play and during scheduled breaks.

The breach has seen Kayo issued with a formal warning from the ACMA.

Wagering advertising has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months, with Tabcorp CEO Adam Rytenskild declaring that “the proliferation of gambling advertising has gone too far”, when addressing the inquiry into online gambling earlier this month.

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Last month, research from the Australian Gambling Research Centre found that 53% of Australians would back a ban on all wagering advertising before 10:30pm, across radio, TV, live stream and on-demand.

ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said “streaming services need to comply with the rules in the same way traditional television broadcasters do.”

“Gambling advertising during live sport is a major concern for Australians. Families want to watch live sport without needing to worry that children may come to think of gambling as a part of the game.”

In a statement sent to Mumbrella, a Foxtel Group spokesperson said the issue arose due to a “system failure”.

“A small proportion of viewers who joined the stream at a particular point in time were not identified as viewing the match on a live basis, and were incorrectly served gambling promotional content.

Kayo has been cooperating with the media authority, having “implemented live production testing and technical enhancements to the processes and software used to schedule advertising” as a result of the ACMA’s investigations.

The streaming service will also have senior management review and sign off on future system changes that may affect the streaming platform’s compliance with the rules.