Gambling company advertising splashed across NRL kit – such as the PointsBet logo on the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles jersey – could be banned within weeks.
A report in the Australian Financial Review stated the ban could extend to gambling advertising at sporting grounds, such as on hoarding and electronic signs around the perimeter of the fields.
Meanwhile, the creation of a national gambling regulator would be “punted into the long grass” with other gambling reform proposals that require deals to be struck with states and territories.
Federal Labor had “planned to create a separate process with states to look at banning gambling advertising in stadiums and on jerseys, but after bookmakers came out in favour – saying it was ‘illogical’ not to do it along with looming ad bans for TV and online – industry sources said discussions with the government had restarted,” the paper reported.
In mid-August a group of gambling companies questioned why jerseys and sports ground advertising should be hived off into a different category for regulation, and not just bundled in with TV and online advertising.
The Fin quoted a Sportsbet spokesperson saying “the status quo is not sustainable” and “balanced reform” was needed: “Excluding jerseys and in-stadia advertising from any live sport ban, as has been reported, would undermine the policy intent of any reforms.”
Gambling companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year flogging their wares in Australia.
They use celebrities and slick, often blokey ads to entice young people into downloading apps, signing up and depositing funds. They reimagine a world in which sport is only ever truly exhilarating when you’ve got some money at risk on the result. They give tips to gamblers – despite the inherent absurdity of a bookie giving tips to a punter – and say things like “don’t forget to set a betting limit” as if that will make everything OK.
And if you’re too successful as a punter, you can be banned. That’s right. It’s not really gambling, more near-gambling. We win. You lose. If you win, we reserve the right to cut you off.
Many of the 32 recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry into gaming reform require support from states and territories, and the establishment of a national gaming regular would require the jurisdictions to cede some power to the federal government.
Perhaps fearful of a backlash from vested interests, Labor is split over how ruthless it needs to be in curbing gambling advertising.
Some MPs are backing more modest measures, while others say there needs to be a blanket ban on all gambling advertising.
In Question Time on August 21, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about gambling reform. His response was quite something: “Gambling has been an issue in our society I suspect since man and woman walked and had a bet on who could ride the horse the fastest, or who could run from rock to rock.”
Okay.
The PM went on to list all the ways his government had addressed problem gambling, and while the measures – such as banning credit card deposits and ensuring gambling companies send monthly statements to punters – are no doubt welcome by those who want to see more regulation, those sitting through the endless gambling ads before, during and after sporting events may question whether enough has been done.