New South Wales’ (NSW) Liquor and Gaming has issued show-cause notices to BlueBet and Entain in response to alleged violations of the Federal Government’s rules enforcing anti-gambling-harm messages across a number of media platforms.
The British gambling giant Entain, which is the owner of the popular betting brands Ladbrokes and Neds, as well as the Australian-owned ad ASX-listed gambling and sports betting operator BlueBet, have been targetted by the NSW gambling watchdog with show-cause notices after the two companies have allegedly undermined the mandatory messages aimed at tackling gambling-related harm in two TV advertisements.
The state’s gambling regulatory body revealed that the instances of breaching New South Wales’ gambling-harm messaging rules triggered a thorough evaluation of all gambling adverts aired on television, radio, and social media channels since the regulations were brought to action in March 2023. As The Sydney Morning Herald reported, some have argued that the competent authorities failed to outline any specific instructions regarding the volume or voice of the gambling-harm messages in ads at the time they implemented the requirements for gambling operators, but in its latest show-cause notices Liquor and Gaming NSW maintained its decision there were some irregularities in Entain’s and BlueBet’s ads.
Reportedly, one gambling operator allegedly lowered the volume of the mandatory responsible gambling message, intentionally making it hard to hear in comparison to the rest of the advert. The regulatory body of the state found that the other gambling company allegedly modified the voice-over’s tone of the responsible gambling message to a soft and passive one in comparison to the rest of the advert, which featured a strong and confident tone.
Former “Gamble Responsibly” Tagline Replaced by Seven New Mandatory Gambling-Harm Taglines
As CasinoGuardian previously reported, since March 2023, online gambling companies in New South Wales have been required to include one of seven responsible gambling messages aimed at reducing gambling-related harm in their adverts aired on radio, television, social media, video, digital, print, and outdoor channels. The state’s gambling watchdog also requires them to include such a message in their promotional advertising materials. Gambling companies offering their services to NSW residents are also required to rotate the responsible gambling taglines they use equally over a 12-month period to make sure the messages are distributed most effectively.
The variety of anti-gambling-related harm messages was unveiled as a replacement for the previous “Gamble Responsibly” tagline.
Under the new rules, gambling operators’ failure to provide clear responsible gambling messages under the requirements of the National Consumer Protection Framework (NCPF) for Online Gambling may result in monetary penalties of up to AU$110,000. The Framework has been specially designed to provide strong, cohesive nationwide minimum protections for consumers against the potential harm that could be inflicted even by interactive gambling service operators licensed in Australia.
According to rumours, the state’s gambling sector is currently preparing for further restrictions associated with gambling advertising while anticipating the parliamentary inquiry into gambling-related harm to come up with some recommendations on the matter.
Peta Murphy-led parliamentary standing committee on social policy and legal affairs is set to unveil its proposals for stricter regulatory rules on gambling adverts before and after live sports broadcasts. Reportedly, the proposals have gained bipartisan support but have still raised some sporting bodies’ concerns regarding the potential impact such limitations could have on funding for grassroots sports because potential advertising revenue drops.
- Author
Olivia Cole
