Sports betting ad crackdown set to be announced for broadcasts, streaming

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon announce a long-delayed crackdown on gambling advertising aimed at breaking the link between children and sports wagering.

Albanese has been under pressure from the opposition, independents and a wide range of civil society groups to overhaul wagering laws in response to an influential report from late Labor MP Peta Murphy.

More than 1000 days on from Murphy’s report, Labor’s reluctance to tackle the issue had turned into a totemic debate on Albanese’s willingness to take on powerful stakeholders in the name of social reform.

Several sources familiar with the government’s plans, unable to speak about them publicly, said Albanese had shifted and was set to announce a suite of policies, and that Communications Minister Anika Wells had made progress on the reform in recent weeks.

The changes are likely to include:

• a cap on the volume of ads that can be broadcast on TV;
• a longer blackout for sports ads around sporting matches, up from the current five-minute cutoff;
• a requirement that social media sites and streaming services allow parents and children to opt out, potentially using similar tools being used to lock under-16s out of social media;
• a phased ban on advertising in stadiums and on jerseys; and
• restrictions on ads around school pick-up times.

The plan will not create a national gambling regulator and will not include a phasing in of a total ad blackout, as advocated by Murphy’s review and advocates.

But the plan is expected to still be welcomed by at least some independent MPs and community activists pushing for change, although some will probably retain calls for a full ban.

Asked about this masthead’s report in question time, Albanese said no final decisions had been made but flagged a new policy that struck a balance between what he described as “the right to have a punt” and the imperative to de-link gambling from sport.

“We need to get … the balance right,” Albanese said, rejecting independent Andrew Wilkie’s firm stance on a full ban.

“It is too prevalent. People, particularly young people, should be able to watch sport and not see a link between sport … and gambling.”

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan said: “This is not the time for half measures. The Murphy report calls for a complete ban”. Another teal MP, Zali Steggall, said the moves were welcome but “leave a huge problem, online gambling advertising, unaddressed.”

However, another source familiar with the policy said: “People have been ropeable with the PM, but if the delay has taken time to land a reasonable position, he’ll be applauded.”

The prime minister’s office was contacted for comment.

Albanese shifted his language on the issue in question time last Wednesday, after months of stonewalling and deflections.

“It is always Labor governments that do the big things, that do the big reforms that change the country for the better,” the prime minister said.

“We’re focused on addressing three key priorities when it comes to gambling. The first is minimising children’s exposure to wagering advertising, the second is breaking the connection between wagering and sport, and the third is reducing the saturation and targeting of wagering advertising.

“Further reforms will build on the work that we’ve done up to this point.”

Albanese killed a detailed proposal prepared by former communications minister Michelle Rowland in 2024 after Rowland had conducted a long period of consultation and was prepared to make an announcement.

Big media firms, including this masthead’s owner Nine Entertainment, and sports organisations were critical of Rowland’s plan, which included a ban on digital ads. They said it would hit their bottom lines, forcing Albanese to rethink and develop a new proposal that could win support across a coalition of stakeholders.

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