THE SQUIZ
Gambling ads during sporting events could be banned within 3 years if the Albanese Government adopts the recommendations of a federal parliamentary committee released yesterday. It looked into online gambling and the financial/mental health impacts, and after 7 months of investigation, MPs came up with 31 recommendations to regulate the industry, phase in the ban and help problem gamblers. The committee chair is Labor MP Peta Murphy – she says their suggestions should be adopted because gambling ads are “inescapable” and “manipulating an impressionable and vulnerable audience to gamble online.”

WHY A BAN?
Well, Murphy says there’s a reason gambling operators spent $310 million on advertising in 2022 – it works… She says the ads normalise online gambling “as a fun, harmless, and sociable activity that is part of a favourite pastime” – aka watching sport. Research shows that Aussies gamble more online than those from any other country in the world, losing $25 billion every year. And earlier this year, a government study found that 3 in 4 of us gambled at least once in the last year – and 46% of those were classified as at risk of harm from their betting. Ad ban advocates say there’s also an urgent need to protect Aussie kids from developing the habit. In response, Responsible Wagering Australia boss Kai Cantwell said the sector expects to be regulated, but maintaining “crucial support to sporting codes and local broadcasters” is also important. And he says that’s what their advertising bucks do…

SO WILL THIS BAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN?
Dunno – ask Team Albanese… And there are a couple of things to note on the political front. Earlier this year, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland (who was under pressure earlier this year for accepting political donations from Sportsbet) said plans to ban gamblers from using credit cards to bet ­online to stop people from drowning in debt were in the works. And it’s not just Labor interested in changes in this space. Last month, Coalition leader Peter Dutton called on the government to ban gambling ads during the game broadcasts – he said the “bombardment of betting ads” was “normalising gambling at a young age”. And research says the majority of Aussies are on board with restrictions – according to the Australian Gambling Research Centre, more than half of us reckon betting ads shouldn’t be on the telly before 10.30pm. To be continued…