Australia urged to ban online gambling ads to curb growing addiction

Tabcorp Holdings

28/06/2023 07:53

SYDNEY, June 28 (Reuters) - Australia should phase out
advertising for online gambling in three years, a parliamentary
committee of inquiry recommended on Wednesday as it looked to
limit the "havoc" it caused in one of the world's biggest
betting market.
    The committee made 31 recommendations on how online
gambling, which it said was changing the culture of sport,
should be regulated and how Australians struggling with
addiction should be supported.
    Australians outspend the citizens of every other country on
online gambling, Peta Murphy, chair of the committee said in the
report titled "You win some, you lose more".
    "This is wreaking havoc in our communities," Murphy said.
    Murphy said online gambling companies advertise deliberately
and strategically alongside sport, which has normalised it as
fun and harmless and socialble activity.
    A generation of young Australians views gambling and sport
as inextricably linked, Murphy said, adding that it was changing
the culture of sport.
    "Australia would be diminished if sport was to be so
captured by gambling revenue that providing an opportunity for
betting came to be seen as its primary purpose," Murphy said.
    A phased, comprehensive ban on all gambling advertising on
all media, broadcast and online, that left no room for
circumvention, was needed, the panel said.
    It recommended the ban be phased in over three years so
sporting bodies and broadcasters had enough time to find
alternative sources of advertising revenue.
    The ban would be a major setback for online gaming companies
like London-listed Flutter Entertainment PLC  FLTRF.L  - owner
of the most popular betting app in Australia, Sportsbet, Entain
PLC  ENT.L  - owner of third-ranked app Ladbrokes, and Tabcorp
Holdings  TAH.AX .
    Australia is the world's biggest gambling nation in terms of
losses per person. Its gambling industry has been in the
spotlight in recent years, with public inquiries criticising 
big casino operators over lapses in money laundering
protections. 
    The gambling problem shifted online to a much greater extent
when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of public venues.
    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would
consider the recommendations.
    "We need to deal with online issues, we need to deal with
social media issues, we need to deal with it comprehensively
across the board," Albanese said on ABC Gold Coast radio.       

 (Reporting by Praveen Menon; editing by Robert Birsel)
 ((praveen.menon@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
praveen.menon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter:
@Journopraveen))