Gambling advertising refers to the promotion of betting services, casinos, lotteries, and online wagering platforms through various media channels. In Australia, it has become increasingly prevalent across television, digital platforms, sports sponsorships, and social media, raising significant public health concerns.
Gambling advertising has become an inescapable presence in Australian life, saturating sports broadcasts, digital platforms, and public spaces. As the world's biggest gamblers per capita, Australians collectively lost $31.5 billion to gambling in 2022-23, an amount comparable to the entire Northern Territory economy. The proliferation of gambling advertising plays a significant role in normalizing betting behavior and driving participation rates, particularly among young people who have never known a world without constant exposure to gambling promotions.
The gambling industry's marketing strategies have evolved dramatically over the past two decades, shifting from traditional print and television advertising to sophisticated digital campaigns that target specific demographics with personalized messaging. This transformation has occurred alongside the rapid growth of online betting platforms, which now account for a substantial portion of gambling revenue. The intersection of aggressive marketing, easy access through mobile devices, and minimal regulatory oversight has created a public health crisis that advocacy groups, medical professionals, and parliamentarians are increasingly demanding be addressed through comprehensive reform.
Understanding the current state of gambling advertising requires examining its various forms, the regulatory frameworks that govern it, the documented harms it causes, and the growing movement pushing for stricter controls or outright bans. This analysis draws on parliamentary inquiries, public health research, international comparisons, and the experiences of communities directly impacted by gambling harm.
Gambling advertising in Australia operates across multiple channels, each with distinct characteristics and regulatory considerations. The industry has proven adept at exploiting new media platforms and finding creative ways to circumvent existing restrictions.
Free-to-air television remains a primary vehicle for gambling advertising, with betting companies purchasing premium slots during sports broadcasts, news programs, and prime-time entertainment. Channel 4 Racing in the UK experienced a financial turnaround after regulations changed to permit direct bookmaker advertising, a model that Australian broadcasters have embraced enthusiastically. The sheer volume of ads during sporting events has become a point of public frustration, with families reporting difficulty watching games together without children being exposed to gambling promotions.
Betting companies have established deep financial relationships with sporting organizations at all levels. Major examples include Bet365 sponsoring snooker players and numerous football clubs displaying gambling company logos on uniforms and websites. These partnerships extend beyond simple logo placement to integrated content, with bookmakers' odds displayed alongside match fixtures and betting promotions woven into pre-game and halftime coverage. Some online poker companies have circumvented advertising restrictions by promoting free-play sites like PartyPoker.net and PokerStars.net, marketing them as educational poker schools while building brand recognition and collecting user data.
The digital realm presents the most challenging regulatory environment, with gambling companies deploying targeted advertising based on user behavior, location, and demographic data. Social media platforms host gambling ads that reach users of all ages, despite age restrictions being easily circumvented. Mobile applications for sports news and results frequently feature embedded gambling promotions, and algorithms ensure that users who show interest in betting content receive increasingly frequent and personalized ads. The BBC discovered links to gambling websites on junior sections of football club websites, highlighting how inadequately protected young people are in digital spaces.
Gambling advertising regulation in Australia operates through a patchwork of federal, state, and industry self-regulation mechanisms that critics argue are fundamentally inadequate to address the scale of harm being caused.
Unlike tobacco and alcohol advertising, which face comprehensive restrictions, gambling advertising remains lightly regulated at the federal level. The Northern Territory Racing Commission functions as the primary regulator for online gambling despite having limited resources and jurisdiction. This arrangement creates a regulatory arbitrage situation where companies can operate nationally while being subject to the oversight of a single territory with financial incentives to maintain a permissive environment.
Several European countries have implemented stricter controls on gambling advertising. Poland and Moldova have enacted complete bans on gambling ads, while many other European nations maintain partial bans targeting children or restricting certain advertising channels. The UK banned approximately 1,000 gambling sites from advertising in 2007 for failing to meet guidelines set by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Private media organizations have also taken independent action, with The Guardian banning gambling advertising from its platforms in June 2023, demonstrating that commercial media can operate successfully without gambling industry revenue.
Australian states maintain different approaches to gambling advertising regulation. The Totalisator Agency Board in Australia faced television advertising restrictions in the 1990s following campaigns under the tagline The Adrenaline Bet, though it remains permitted to publish race dividends in newspapers. These inconsistencies create confusion for consumers and allow companies to exploit jurisdictional gaps.
Australia has one of the highest rates of gambling advertising exposure globally, with over one million gambling ads shown on free-to-air television annually. The industry invests heavily in sports sponsorships, with betting companies sponsoring major leagues, teams, and individual athletes. This saturation has normalized gambling, particularly among young people, with 85 percent of 12-17 year olds reporting exposure to gambling ads in the past month.
The regulatory environment remains fragmented, with the Northern Territory Racing Commission serving as the de-facto regulator for online gambling despite limited oversight capacity. This arrangement allows betting companies to operate with minimal restrictions while paying reduced tax rates. The absence of a unified federal approach has created gaps in consumer protection and enabled aggressive marketing practices that target vulnerable populations.
The public health consequences of pervasive gambling advertising are increasingly well-documented, with particular concern about impacts on young people and vulnerable populations.
Research shows that almost one in three 12-17 year olds in Australia gamble, rising to 46 percent when young people turn 18. More than 900,000 teenagers aged 12-19 gambled in the past year, meaning Australian teenagers are more likely to gamble than play any of the most popular team sports. Three in four kids now believe gambling is a normal part of sport, a dramatic shift in cultural attitudes directly attributable to advertising saturation. Young people discuss betting odds with the same familiarity they once reserved for player statistics, indicating deep normalization of gambling behavior before they reach legal age.
Australians lost an average of nearly $2,500 per person to gambling in 2022-23, more than the average household electricity bill for an entire year. The $244.3 billion wagered annually makes Australia the world's biggest gambling nation per capita, with losses exceeding the $21 billion lost in all of Las Vegas. Gambling companies accept an estimated $18.4 million annually in illegal bets from underage Australians, demonstrating systematic failures in age verification and harm prevention. Medical professionals report seeing gambling harm impact families and children, with paediatricians in Western Sydney documenting cases where gambling addiction has devastated household finances and family stability.
Marketing and advertising strategies disproportionately target those most susceptible to gambling harm. Personalized digital advertising uses behavioral data to identify and target individuals showing signs of problem gambling, while promotions emphasize easy wins and downplay risks. Those already experiencing gambling harm report that constant advertising exposure makes recovery extremely difficult, triggering urges and undermining treatment efforts.
The 2023 parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and gambling advertising, officially titled You Win Some, You Lose More and commonly known as the Murphy Review after late Labor MP Peta Murphy who chaired it, represents the most comprehensive examination of gambling advertising harm in Australian history.
The Murphy Review put forward 31 recommendations for better regulating gambling in Australia. Central among these was a call for banning all forms of advertising for online gambling, phased in over three years. The inquiry recommended establishing a single federal minister responsible for online gambling oversight and creating an online gambling ombudsman to handle complaints and enforce standards. Additional recommendations addressed advertising in stadiums, on player uniforms, and across social media platforms.
Polling conducted by the Australia Institute demonstrates overwhelming public support for gambling advertising restrictions. Three in four Australians support a total ban on gambling ads phased in over three years, while four in five support banning gambling ads on social media and online, and in stadiums and on player uniforms. This broad consensus crosses political, demographic, and geographic boundaries, indicating that gambling advertising has become a unifying issue for communities experiencing its harms.
Despite the Murphy Review's recommendations and strong public support, the federal government has not implemented any of the proposed reforms. Macarthur MP Mike Freelander, who co-chairs the Parliamentary Friends of Gambling Harm Minimisation group alongside Liberal Simon Kennedy and independent Kate Chaney, believes a ban on gambling advertising would pass parliament with a conscience vote. He frames the issue as a public health matter based on his decades of experience as a paediatrician, stating he has seen gambling harm impact families and children directly. However, he and other reform advocates have noted apparent reluctance from senior government leadership to move forward with legislation.
Multiple organizations and grassroots movements have mobilized to demand action on gambling advertising, building pressure on government and industry.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform leads the End Gambling Ads campaign, which has gathered over 35,000 supporters. The campaign emphasizes that a 13-year-old today has never known a world without gambling ads and draws parallels to successful tobacco control efforts. The Alliance advocates for comprehensive bans on gambling advertising across all platforms, arguing that voluntary industry codes have proven ineffective and that only legislative action will adequately protect vulnerable populations.
This UK-based network campaigns against gambling advertising promotion and sponsorship through three main arguments: gambling advertising is harmful, regulations on gambling advertising do not work, and gambling advertising is ubiquitous. Their framework has influenced Australian advocacy efforts and demonstrates international coordination among reform movements.
The Parliamentary Friends of Gambling Harm Minimisation group brings together MPs from Labor, Liberal, and independent backgrounds, along with unions and grassroots Labor members. This coalition hosts reform advocates in Canberra and works to maintain political pressure for legislative action. The multi-partisan nature of support suggests that gambling advertising reform transcends traditional political divisions and represents a genuine community concern rather than partisan positioning.
The gambling industry has mounted significant resistance to advertising restrictions, employing familiar arguments about economic impact, personal responsibility, and the effectiveness of self-regulation. Betting companies emphasize their contributions to sports funding and media revenue, warning that advertising bans would harm these sectors. Industry bodies promote voluntary codes of conduct and age verification measures as alternatives to legislative restrictions, despite evidence that these measures have failed to prevent underage gambling or reduce harm. The industry's substantial financial resources enable extensive lobbying efforts and political donations that complicate reform efforts.
Gambling advertising in Australia has reached a saturation point that demands comprehensive regulatory reform. The evidence of harm, particularly to young people, is overwhelming and well-documented. The Murphy Review provided a clear roadmap for action, and public support for restrictions is strong and consistent. Yet political will remains the missing ingredient, with government hesitation allowing the gambling industry to continue profiting from aggressive marketing practices that normalize addictive behavior and target vulnerable populations. The comparison to tobacco control is instructive: Australia successfully reduced smoking rates through advertising bans, plain packaging, and public health campaigns. Applying similar principles to gambling advertising represents not an attack on personal freedom but a recognition that protecting public health, especially youth health, requires limiting commercial exploitation of addictive products. As advocacy efforts intensify and parliamentary support solidifies, the question is not whether gambling advertising will face stricter controls, but when political leadership will match the community's clear demand for action.
Gambling advertising normalizes addictive behavior, particularly among young people, and contributes to increased gambling participation and harm. Medical professionals and public health experts recognize that constant exposure to gambling promotions undermines harm prevention efforts and targets vulnerable populations, making it comparable to tobacco and alcohol advertising in terms of health impact.
The Murphy Review recommended a complete ban on all forms of online gambling advertising, phased in over three years. It also called for establishing a single federal minister responsible for online gambling, creating an online gambling ombudsman, and implementing restrictions on advertising in stadiums, on uniforms, and across social media platforms.
Australians collectively lost $31.5 billion to gambling in 2022-23, with average losses of nearly $2,500 per person. This amount is comparable to the entire Northern Territory economy and exceeds the total gambling losses in Las Vegas, making Australia the world's biggest gambling nation per capita.
Research shows that 85 percent of 12-17 year olds have seen a gambling ad on television in the past month. Almost one in three teenagers in this age group gamble, and three in four kids believe gambling is a normal part of sport, demonstrating the effectiveness of advertising in normalizing gambling behavior among youth.
Poland and Moldova have implemented complete bans on gambling advertising. Many other European countries maintain partial bans targeting children or restricting certain advertising channels. The UK banned approximately 1,000 gambling sites from advertising in 2007, and private media organizations like The Guardian have independently banned gambling ads from their platforms.
The Northern Territory Racing Commission serves as the de-facto regulator for online gambling in Australia, despite having limited resources and oversight capacity. This fragmented arrangement allows betting companies to operate nationally while being subject to the jurisdiction of a single territory, creating significant regulatory gaps and enforcement challenges.
Multiple organizations and parliamentary groups are working to address gambling advertising harm and advocate for comprehensive regulatory reform in Australia.
Examining how pervasive gambling advertising has normalized betting behavior among Australian youth, with over 900,000 teenagers gambling annually and three in four kids viewing gambling as a normal part of sport.
Analysis of the 2023 parliamentary inquiry into online gambling that recommended comprehensive advertising bans and the political dynamics surrounding implementation of its 31 recommendations.
The Parliamentary Friends of Gambling Harm Minimisation group, co-chaired by MPs from Labor, Liberal, and independent parties, has intensified lobbying efforts with claims that a conscience vote would pass advertising ban legislation.
The End Gambling Ads campaign has gathered over 35,000 signatures, demonstrating growing grassroots support for comprehensive restrictions on gambling advertising across all platforms.
Latest data reveals Australians lost $31.5 billion to gambling in 2022-23, with average per-person losses reaching nearly $2,500 annually, reinforcing calls for advertising reform.