Fans of the Australian Football League (AFL) are calling for a nationwide ban on gambling adverts at stadiums and on television channels.
The move followed a major finding of the second yearly AFL Fans Association (AFLFA) survey, which found that nearly half (47%) of the almost 3,000 research respondents pointed out gambling advertising when asked to share all their concerns from a list. The results of the survey showed that gambling advertising has surpassed rule changes and has become the most common concern for supporters of the Australian Football League.
As announced by the AFLFA, the top 5 key concerns impacting the fans’ enjoyment of the game included gambling adverts, umpiring/rule changes, floating fixtures, affordability, and access to tickets for the Grand Final.
The survey was held in late 2022 and early 2023 and gathered a total of 2,924 responses – a significant increase from the 860 responses received in the 2021 survey – from members and supporters of the clubs in the AFL. The respondents were aged from 18 to over 85, with non-Victorian participants accounting for 51% of the overall number of respondents, giving the research a national focus, unlike the first survey of the AFLFA held in 2021.
New AFLFA Survey Says Gambling Ads Should Be Banned from Stadium Grounds and TV Broadcasts
As revealed by the AFL Fans Association, more than 70% of the League’s fans shared that gambling adverts should be suspended from both TV broadcasts and stadium grounds, while 67% of respondents said AFL teams should not be allowed to generate money from betting firms and slot machines.
According to the results of the survey, there has also been concern about the normalisation of gambling among Australian children, who have been groomed as future gamblers as a result of the massive volume of gambling advertising.
The survey also revealed that while there was some recognition of the need for responsible gambling and fans’ right to place bets on AFL events if they want to do so, it was obvious that the volume of gambling advertising has become morally inappropriate, and it should be suspended considering the social harm and the negative impact on families and individuals.
Ron Issko, president of the AFL Fans Association, called for the Australian Football League, local broadcasting groups and fans to discuss various options about how to cut back on the proliferation of gambling advertising. He believes that the adoption of a planned approach would be best for dealing with the increased volumes of gambling advertising that have been targeting fans of all ages and have been normalising gambling to Australian children.
Of course, the proponents of the proposed suspension of gambling ads do not believe that changes could happen overnight. However, they believe that discussing a planned approach aimed at reducing the adverts over a reasonable period of time to a point when the country gets rid of the ads, would be a mature approach that would probably be appreciated by AFL fans.
- Author
Daniel Williams
