Australian government denies media reports of gambling ad ban

Sky News reports the federal government will impose an almost immediate ban on online gambling ads to curb high levels of marketing across social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and X.

On TV advertising, a hotly debated issue, advertising will be partially banned as of 2026. This will give broadcasters and gambling operators time to honour their current contractual agreements. As expected, the government looks set to stop short of a full ban on TV and radio advertising, as recommended in late MP Peta Murphy’s report on gambling advertising reform.

The partial ban will likely include the previously reported cap on ads before, during and after sports showings. It will seek to curb the high saturation of ads and protect the children viewing sporting broadcasts.

Prime Minister says no final decision on ad ban

While Sky News Australia reports that a decision has been reached, the government itself says that discussions over how it will amend gambling advertising rules are still progressing.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday (3 September), rejected reports the government has made its mind up on the reforms.

He told reporters during a press conference held at the same time Sky News posted its report, the government “has not come to a conclusion, we’re in discussions”.

“I’ve seen reports that allege that they know what the position is. Well, they don’t. What we’ve been doing is having a consultation to make sure that we get the reforms right.

“We know that problem gambling is an issue, and we want to deal with those issues in a constructive way,” the Prime Minister said.

Albanese defended his government’s efforts to curb problem gambling during its tenure while speaking to journalists Tuesday.

“My government has already done more in the first two years on problem gambling, by having the register to stop people who are problem gamblers. By changing the use of credit cards for gambling. By changing the rules and the declarations that come after advertising.

“But we’re continuing to engage with the media organisations, with sporting organisations, as well as the anti-gambling lobby. We’re engaging constructively. That’s what good governments do. They reach out and engage constructively.”

No independent gambling regulator says Minister

Although the Labour government’s cabinet has yet to greenlight new rules, Sky News said an online ban could be implemented quickly. However, it did not provide a specific timeframe.

Notably, the government told the news agency it will not establish an independent gambling regulator. The 2023 Murphy Report which called for a blanket ban on gambling marketing across all media channels, flagged the establishment of a regulator as high priority.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program the government was not discussing the formation of a a national online gambling regulator with states and territories’ local governments.

“What is in the discussion with states and territories is around how we better co-ordinate and move forward a unified effort when it comes to online gaming.”

Gambling should not become normalised for children

Reports in July suggested the Australian government was considering a watered-down version of the originally proposed ‘Murphy’s Law’ gambling ad ban.

According to these reports, gambling ads would no longer be shown during children’s programming. Nor would they run within the hour before, during and after sports broadcasts. They would also be limited to two per hour in general programming.

Anti-gambling groups have been highly critical of the government’s decision to go against the Murphy Report, which was authored by Murphy.

But, a full ban would severely undermine free-to-air media in the country, government ministers previously argued, as they needed gambling ad revenue to survive.

During an episode of ABC’s Q&A programme on 12 August, Minister Bill Shorten said he did not believe prohibition would work. He emphasised the government’s view that gambling should not be normalised for children.

“There’s no reason why gambling ads should be on when there’s kids’ shows on. There’s no reason why they should be infiltrating the digital markets where, you know, there’s video games which are encouraging people to gamble,” Shorten said.

Shorten was critical of digital media and the technology giants running it. “If you kill free-to-air media, what’s going to replace it? And OK, I’m just going to say it – I don’t want Mark Zuckerberg or Facebook in charge of my news feeds. He’s not even paying the Australian media for what they report. So just as we go to a sensible solution.”