Legislation to ban gambling ads during sports broadcasts has been tabled in Federal Parliament by Independent MP Zoe Daniel.
It comes after leaders from both sides of federal politics have spoken out against gambling ads in recent weeks.
Daniel’s legislation is a private members’ bill, which is rarely enacted into law.
Current regulations
There are regulations around gambling ads during live sports broadcasts already in place that ban the promotions from airing during play or breaks.
There are also restrictions on gambling spokespeople being present at a sporting venue, or being a part of the broadcast’s commentary team. Betting odds also can’t be promoted within 30 minutes before and after play.
There are further rules in place from 5am-8:30pm that are directly targeted at limiting children’s exposure to gambling.
What would the bill do?
The bill would broaden the existing restrictions stopping the airing of gambling ads during sports broadcasts. This would apply to commercial TV and radio, and streaming services.
Gambling ads that are accidentally or incidentally broadcast during a broadcast will be exempt from the ban. This could include a sponsor on a team uniform.
Should gambling ads be banned?
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said this month the Coalition is seeking a ban on sports betting ads during the broadcasting of sporting events. They would also pursue a ban for an hour on each side of a match.
He said betting ads “take the joy” out of sports broadcasts, and are “normalising gambling at a young age”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this month that he found the sports ads “annoying”, and added that a review of gambling ads was already underway.
