Apparently, Australian residents agree that gambling, tobacco, alcohol and junk food TV advertising should be officially suspended in the country, according to a recent poll carried out by The Australia Institute.
The local think tank surveyed 1,003 Aussies about whether TV adverts for certain controversial products should be allowed or not. The Australia Institute recently announced the results from the polling research that was conducted on August 29th, called “Give Junk Food and Gambling Ads the Punt”. As mentioned above, the survey was focused on the local residents’ opinions on the presence of controversial products and services in TV advertising windows.
It seems that a large number of the people who took part in the survey believe that adverts for products such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and junk food should be banned from TV channels.
It is important to note that tobacco product advertising is already suspended in Australia, with almost three-fourths of the people polled (74%) still supporting the ban. Gambling is second, with 71% of the people who took part in the poll agreeing that TV gambling ads should be illegal in the country. Exactly two-thirds (66%) of the polled Australians have the same opinion about junk food, especially during “children’s viewing hours”. Alcohol and fossil fuel burning TV ads were lower down the list, with 51% and 41% of the people polled, respectively, backing a potential ban on controversial product advertising.
The suspension of gambling adverts from local TV channels is backed mainly by individuals who have identified themselves as “Independent/Other”, “Labor” or “Greens” voters. Pretty much the same group of people has also supported the ban on fossil fuels.
Australian Gambling Industry Causes Controversy Despite Successful Performance Throughout the Years
The gambling industry of Australia has been pretty successful historically but this does not mean that its acceptance by the public has always lacked any controversy.
According to a poll that took place in February 2022, a large number of football fans considered gambling ads during events from the Australian Football League (AFL) a problem, with a total of 37% of the people polled responding that way. Out of those, almost 70% were part of football clubs’ members and fanbase, which basically meant that the concern is strong among people within the AFL.
Then, a study published in May 2022 also revealed a worrying picture. It found that many veterans from the Australian Defense Force (ADF) were silently struggling with gambling addiction. According to the data gathered by the research, 13.4% of the people who participated in the study were currently suffering from problem gambling or have suffered from compulsive gambling behaviour at some point over the last year.
As reported by Casino Guardian at the time, in September 2021, the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Institute of Family Studies launched a comprehensive study on gambling in the country. According to the results of the research, which results were regarding the situation in 2018, a total of 5.2% of Australia’s overall population was suffering from some level of problem gambling.
Problem gambling has been part of some studies held half a decade ago. Back in 2017, the Goodwin research was held to look specifically at problem gambling among Australian residents. At the time, the researchers constructed a very popular formulation that a gambling addict can affect up to six other people around them. That figure was 50% lower when it came to moderate-risk gamblers, and drops to just one person affected by so-called low-risk gamblers.
- Author
Daniel Williams
