Advocates condemn Australian sports for gambling reform rebuff

Advocates for gambling reform as well as victims of gambling harm and the dangers of online betting have responded to comments made by Australia’s biggest sporting codes, who recently spoke up against gambling reforms.

The Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (Compps) submitted a federal parliamentary inquiry stating that the current rules paired with the measures taken by individual sports had kept the balance between maintaining gambling from children and allowing betting operators to carry on with their operations.

“Any measures that impact the advertising revenue model for broadcasters may affect the value of sports’ media rights, which [our] members use to fund their grassroots and game development and other programs,” the body said.

Compps represents Australian organizations in charge of sporting activities such as the NRL, AFL, Rugby Australia, Netball Australia, and Tennis Australia.

Since its inception, the support for the wagering restrictions has increased, and Allegra Spender, a federal independent MP, recently added her voice to that of others to advocate for stricter reforms to stop young people from unnecessary exposure to wagering advertisements.

Spender stated that for more young Australians to be protected, more restrictions on gambling were needed. She went on to call the reforms currently in place “ineffective” as they did little to shield young people.

“If the intent of gambling advertising restrictions is to limit the exposure of young people to gambling and to prevent the early onset of addiction and other harms, then the current policy settings are clearly ineffective,” Spender said.

Tim Costello, the Chief supporter of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, responded to Compps’ comments, calling it “deluded and dangerous.” He also pointed out it had a conflict of interest in the matter.

“I laughed out loud in disbelief when I saw the spokesperson said they had the balance right,” Costello revealed.

“This generation of parents is the first in Australian history that has had to try and explain to their kids that there is a difference between sports and betting – between your football heroes and the odds.”

David Littleproud, the National party leader, noted the importance of gambling companies being a part of the reforms and stated that an adversarial debate on advertising was unnecessary. He also emphasized the importance of free will and allowing people to make their choices without the coercion of advertising.

“I don’t want to see a total ban, but some of this has been brought on by the gambling companies themselves and by the sheer volume of ads, particularly around free-to-air sport. As a father, that gets up my nose,” Littleproud disclosed.

“I am not a wowser, and I don’t mind a punt with the best of them – people should be able to make their own choices so long as they know the risk – but there’s a time and a place for gambling advertisements. That’s why it’s important we do have this conversation now to make sure that the regulations there now are fit for the future.”

Parties directly affected by gambling harms also voiced their disapproval of Compps’ stand. A New South Wales man named Jacob, who had suffered an online gambling addiction for 14 years, revealed that the peak body’s response was “hard to listen” to for him and pointed out just how ingrained betting was in sports.

“I find that [position] hard to listen to even now, five years into my recovery. You can’t watch sport without gambling as it’s so incorporated into the coverage with live odds, advertisements at the stadiums, and on jerseys,” Jacob said.

“I often received emails when I hadn’t placed a bet for a couple of weeks saying, ‘Oh, we’ve noticed you haven’t gambled lately. Here’s a $100 bonus if you deposit $50 this weekend.’”

Jacob explained that his attempts to step away from betting on live sports were impeded by several phones and text messages from the operators saying, “‘I’ve noticed you’ve been inactive lately. Can we get you back on the wagon again?’” He revealed that his vulnerability at the time did not allow him to see the actions as “morally wrong” but now he could.

Australian gambling company Tabcorp turned in a report to the parliamentary inquiry stating its concern for the hike in gambling ads and its effect on younger, more vulnerable individuals.

“Regulating and restricting this type of gambling advertising is complex, and the current laws have not kept pace with emerging technologies and social media platforms like TikTok,” Tabcorp said

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