The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has accused Seven of breaching online content rules.

In a statement sent on Wednesday, ACMA claimed Seven breached the rules by showing “by showing gambling advertising outside the specified times during live sports coverage on its streaming service”.

The statutory authority alleged that an investigation found a gambling ad shown at 10.38am on 7plus during a live stream of an NFL game on 12 December; gambling promos cannot be shown during live streams of sporting events between 5am and 8.30pm, including five minutes before and after a game.

The incident occurred after Seven was issued a formal warning for a similar incident in October 2022.

ADVERTISEMENT

Seven has paid $13,320 for the breach.

“The ACMA expects broadcasters to have robust systems and processes and associated assurance mechanisms in place to support compliance with these laws,” ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

“Seven has told us that the measures it has in place are adequate to ensure future compliance and it does not need to do more. Following repeated breaches by Seven, we will continue to closely monitor their compliance with the rules to make sure that is the case.”

In a statement given to Mumbrella today, a Seven spokesperson responded to the news, saying: “This relates to an isolated instance of human error and was only streamed to a very small number of end users. Seven strictly adheres to all regulations.”

The news comes just a day after SBS announced at its 2024 upfront that it will introduce a feature within SBS On Demand that allows its users to opt-out of receiving advertising for gambling, alcohol, and quick food delivery services.

SBS will launch the beta version of this opt-out functionality during the first quarter of 2024.