End game approaches for gambling ads

BY Tim Burrowes

August 7, 2023 11:07

Welcome to Tuesdata, our weekly analysis for Unmade’s paying members.

Below, we examine how gambling sector ad spend is evolving amid pressures on the industry and the looming possibility of an advertising ban.

Further down, a flat landing for The Unmade Index despite individual stock gyrations.

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Rise and fall of the punters

Moments like this might be eradicated from Australian media if a gambling ad ban comes to fruition

With legislation looming and public disquiet growing, online betting companies appear to be reading the room and dialling back their advertising, Unmade’s analysis of the data suggests.

Standard Media Index, which tracks spending by media agencies on behalf of big brands, has recorded numbers suggesting that gambling advertising peaked in 2022.

SMI data shows that from 2011 to 2021, gambling advertising spent with broadcast television grew from $68 million to $179 million. SMI recorded $287m spent on gambling advertising in 2021, which rose to $300.5m in 2022.

However, SMI says that for January to May 2023, $95.2 million has been spent across all mediums. That suggests 2023 is already shaping up to be a leaner year in gambling sector ad spend even before regulatory intervention takes place.

Television declining

Monitoring service Canda Media Intelligence has also recorded a gradual decline in activity over the last two years as the landgrab comes to an end.

Over the 2022 and 2023 financial years, Canda estimated that more than $160m went into advertising on free to air TV.

That peaked in the month of October 2021, with $21m spent in the sector

The last month where Canda saw significant spend was in October last year, with $14.8m spent on TV betting ads for the month. So far this year, monthly TV spend has varied between $2.5m and $6m.

In television, approximately $21m was spent between January and May this year. That’s a decline of 31% compared to the same period in 2022, when $31m was spent on betting ads

Every major betting brand has dialled back their TV spends over the last two years.

Sportsbet, the biggest spender, dropped from $32.4m to $25.2m.

Ladbrokes, TAB and Neds all halved their spends on TV advertising from FY22 to FY23.

This time last year, Nielsen ranked Pointsbet as the biggest advertiser overall. It’s since dropped to fifth place after being usurped by Sportsbet (owned by Flutter Entertainment).

While the decline in TV advertising has been most notable, that also represented the medium where there was the greatest public outcry. It’s possible that much of the spend has simple moved to mediums that are less easy to monitor.

In November 2022, the federal government found some consensus with the states around tighter rules about the warnings that must be placed on ads.

Stronger warnings replaced the ubiquitous “gamble responsibly” tagline, like “Chances are you’re about to lose”.

In late March, it emerged that News Corp was pulling back from its push into gambling via its investment in Betr. The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that News Corp’s two directors have left the Betr board.

Both the Opposition and current Labor government have been active in voicing discontent with the prevalence of gambling ads on television and elsewhere, so the ad spend numbers might continue to look even more diminutive in the years to come.

Domain’s dismal day on the Unmade Index

Seja Al Zaidi writes:

There was no clear direction on the Unmade Index yesterday, with the index remaining flat at 696.1 points after a minor drop of 0.11%.

Domain, the second largest stock on the Index, had a fall of 2.97% in share price. Seven West Media followed it down with a 1.25% drop.

The other large and medium sized stocks on the index fared better. Ooh Media saw a 2.14% boost in share price, while printing and marketing firm IVE Group rose 2.86%. The radio players had a positive day, with ARN rising 0.48%; Southern Cross Austereo 1.08% and Sports Entertainment Group by 2.78%.