Gambling advertising set for major overhaul in Victoria

THE Victorian State Government is set to make major changes to the laws regarding sports betting advertising in a bid to limit the exposure children have to gambling campaigns.

Under the proposed bid, public transport will be targeted, as well as areas that children frequent, but the reform will not extend to sporting events.

Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Marlene Kairouz says the state’s children should be protected from the ‘insidious’ nature of gambling as much as possible.

“Children should be talking about their favourite sporting teams, they shouldn’t be talking about the odds of that team winning” Minister Kairouz said.

The three biggest spenders in the gambling advertising market, Sportsbet, Crownbet and William Hill, currently spend a combined total $62 million dollars per year.

Minister Marlene Kairouz believes that wagering-related problem gambling costs Victorians between $1.5 and $2.8 billion a year and that advertising has the ability to manipulate attitudes and behaviours.

“The government is leading the nation, targeting insidious wagering ads which encourage Victorians most at risk to gamble.”

The state government is confident it will have the public’s backing, but is asking Victorian residents to have their say via a public consultation.

“As we have seen over the last few years, sports betting advertising has become more prevalent and conspicuous and what we are wanting to do is seek the community’s feedback on ways to prevent sports gambling advertising.”

The Victorian government’s proposed bans will not extend to television, internet or radio which are regulated at a federal level.

TV licence fee set to be cut to equalise losses incurred by sports betting ad ban

THE prospect of an abolishment to the $100 million-plus TV licensing fees that networks are forced to pay could be coming to fruition as political leaders push for harsher gambling advertising reform on a federal level.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon is set to meet Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull to outline his proposal which will look to outlaw gambling advertising on G-rated sporting events.

The senator will also meet the Seven, Ten and Nine networks, who he believes should ‘not be out of pocket’ due to his reforms.

“They (television networks) shouldn’t be bearing the brunt of this when it’s the government that has allowed it to proliferate.” Mr Xenophon said.

It is estimated the gambling industry pays close to $120 million per year in advertising to the free-to-air networks, who in turn pay $100 million in licensing fees collectively.

Mr Xenophon said a major retooling of the system needs to take place, saying the current landscape has similarities to the tobacco advertising scourge.

“The whole idea of the restriction is that kids wouldn’t be exposed to gambling advertising. Why should that exemption apply to sporting programs when we know it is a family activity?

“When eight and 10-year olds know more about the betting odds of a game than the game itself then you know this is huge ­problem. We should look at this in much the same way tobacco advertising was dealt with a generation ago.”

Despite widespread public support for the program, the networks are not completely behind Mr Xenophon’s plan.

The license offset has already been in the works for years and it would fail to cover the $120 million a year paid by the gambling companies to advertise on their networks.

Gambling advertising has handed the television industry one of its few growth areas in a difficult landscape which sees networks competing alongside digital giants Google, Facebook and YouTube.

Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner said ­greater regulation of free-to-air TV would only serve to negatively impact the television industry and increase gambling industry expenditure through other mediums.

“Licence fee cuts are already critical for the future of broadcasters, even with the current rules in place,” he said.

“Increased levels of regulation like further gambling advertising restrictions will only cancel out the benefit to industry of getting licence fees to a sustainable level.”

Ten chief executive Paul Anderson agreed with his Seven West media counterpart, saying the free-to-air networks are being unfairly affected.

“Continuing to target this industry when we are already by far the safest and most heavily regulated is neither effective nor sustainable.”