Bridget Fair, the CEO of Free TV, the industry body that represents Australia’s free-to-air broadcasters, spoke with AdNews about the issue of gambling advertisements and their necessity in the broadcasting industry. She warned that broadcasters could face major financial struggles should the government move forward with a crackdown on online gambling ads.
Currently, Aussie free-to-air networks operate by not charging viewers for the airing of news, sports coverage, and more. They instead accumulate revenue from advertisement, with a major portion of the said revenue being sourced from broadcasting deals with gambling companies.
The Australian government, however, is considering introducing major restrictions on how gambling can be advertised in the country based on proposals outlined in the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ parliament inquiry into online gambling harm. If legislators go forward with the said proposals, the measures would be introduced in a phased manner. This approach is meant to give broadcasters time to seek alternative means of revenue.
The Proposals That Are Causing Broadcasters to Worry
The parliamentary inquiry brought forward a total of 31 recommendations, and if implemented, the major advertising proposals would be introduced over the course of three years and a total of four phases. Phase one would mandate a ban on inducement ads online. Moreover, no airing of ads would be permitted during school drop-off and pick-up times.
The second phase would involve a prohibition that would dictate that ads cannot be aired in the hour preceding and the hour succeeding a sports match. Advertisements during the game itself would also be prohibited.
The committee also argued that broadcasts of online gambling ads should not be aired between 6.00 am and 10.00 pm, with this measure being reserved for phase three. The Committee clarified that it did not consider this measure to fully shield children from gambling ads. Despite this drawback, however, the recommendation would give broadcasters enough room to look for “alternative advertising revenue streams.”
Finally, phase four is set to be implemented in late 2026. If all goes as planned, this phase would come with the introduction of a blanket ban on the online advertising of gambling.
Broadcasters Might Not Be Able to Adjust to the Changes
Free TV’s CEO argued that mitigation measures would need to be undertaken by the Government to offset the negative impact gambling ad restrictions would have on networks. She specifically pointed to the Commercial Broadcast Tax that all networks, including free-to-air ones, are mandated to pay. According to Fair, this is not done elsewhere, and she deemed such taxes to be “outdated regulatory burdens.”
This is not the first time Fair has addressed the issue. In June 2023, soon after the results of the report were published, she cautioned that broadcasting companies would struggle to sustain their businesses since the prohibitions would “only result in less funding for Australian content.” She continued, claiming that blanket bans would “ultimately hurt viewers and the television services they love.” In addition, she also claimed that the broadcasting industry was willing to cooperate with the Government for the reduction of gambling ads that would not harm viewers or industry players. Fair also pointed out that “frequency caps” would serve as a better option.
- Author
Daniel Williams
