Albanese government ‘walking away from social media gambling ad ban’
Online gambling advertising looks like it will stick around for a while
The Albanese government has been urged not to drop its proposed gambling advertising ban on social media, with reports that communications minister Anika Wells is seeking to shift the focus towards combatting overseas betting operations.
The AFR reported on Thursday that the government plans to quietly step back former comms minister Michelle Rowland previous proposal to ban gambling advertising on social media. Rowland also proposed that TV ads be restricted to an hour either side of a live sports broadcast, with a limit of two hours an hour.
This proposal was widely viewed as a watered-down version of the results of a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry, in which the late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended a complete ban of all gambling ads.
“Gambling advertising and simulated gambling through video games, is grooming children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behaviour,” Murphy wrote in 2023.
