A local mayor in the state of Victoria has called for councils across Australia to suspend all gambling advertisements at local sports matches instead of waiting for the Federal or State Government to take action.
The anti-gambling policy adopted by the City of Monash seems to be the first of its kind in the entire country. The new rules, however, are facing strong and coordinated objections from sports clubs based in the area that have explained they could be forced to cease operation, as well as from gambling venues that feel unfairly targeted.
Under the aforementioned policy, sports clubs that continue to display the logos of gambling companies as sponsors will be ultimately suspended from council grounds and clubhouses. For the time being, such logos still appear on some websites, jerseys, billboards, and newsletters around council grounds.
According to Tina Samardzija, mayor of the city of Monash, local Governments should play a more significant role in preventing gambling-related harm and rejected the claims that councils should not be involved in local Governments’ social policy. She further noted that communities should do a lot more in order to prevent young audiences’ exposure to gambling.
Sports Clubs Concerned They Could No Longer Receive Significant Gambling Sponsorship Donations
The City of Monash provided estimates reporting that local poker machines collected a total of AU$84.9 million over the 2021/2022 fiscal year.
Last financial year, Mulgrave Country Club, which is currently one of the largest gambling venues in the region, collected gambling revenue of AU$7.1 million. Currently, the venue has sponsorship agreements with a number of local sports clubs that offer junior football, cricket, softball, netball, squash and baseball games.
Ms Samardzija explained that gambling venues should continue spending money on community sports but should not expect something in return. Monash City’s mayor further noted that gambling venues often cause serious harm to local communities and that harm is something that should not be encouraged and receive sponsorship accolades for.
As mentioned above, local clubs opposed the proposed policy. The president of the Community Clubs Victoria, Andrew Lloyd, questioned why the Monash City Council had any involvement in social policy regarding gambling services. The trade body representing gaming venues in the state of Victoria is currently preparing legal advice to challenge the Council’s policy, as it has some concerns that other councils around the state could address the issue in a similar way. According to Mr Lloyd, the matter was being unfairly politicised and was dividing people, which was not good.
On the other hand, some sporting clubs in Monash have also shared concerns that the policy would have serious financial effects that are likely to boost higher membership fees. As reported above, some of the clubs which have had gambling operators as long-time sponsors, have shared their fears that the policy would cut the considerable sums of money they have been receiving as sponsorship money on an annual basis.
- Author
Daniel Williams
