Kayo breaches gambling advertising Rules – ACMA responds

Australias regulatory body for communications the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) recently discovered that Kayo, the Australian pay to view sports streaming service operated by Newcorp-owned Foxtel, violated regulations on gambling advertisements.

The inquiry was initiated following complaints from viewers about gambling ads during sports broadcasts on the platform.

During its investigation the ACMA found that 16 different gambling ads were illegally aired at times across 267 sports events.

These regulations prohibit platforms from showing gambling ads during sports between 5:00 AM and 8:30 PM. and with a five minute buffer before and after each event.

Carolyn Lidgerwood, a member of the ACMA Authority raised concerns about the extent of the violations.

Lidgerwood criticised Kayo for failing to identify the system glitch which was allegedly responsible for placing the ads.

“Online streaming services as well as broadcasters all have a responsibility to put robust systems in place so that they adhere to these long-standing gambling advertising rules,” she said.

“The rules are there to reduce viewer exposure to gambling ads, particularly for impressionable young audiences and those vulnerable to gambling harms.

In this case, Hubbl (a Foxtel service provider to Kayo) has let those viewers down.”

In this instance Hubbl let down its audience.

A spokesperson from Foxtel Group attributed the issue to a coding error in Kayo Sports iOS applications.

“We are pleased to have worked collaboratively with the ACMA throughout its investigation and will continue to do so in respect of the ACMA’s remedial direction,” said the spokesperson.

The ACMA has issued Hubbl with a remedial direction to undergo an audit of its systems and processes to prevent future breaches.

Non compliance with regard to Australian gambling ads could lead to penalties of up to $626,000 per day from the Federal Court.

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