Labor’s proposed gambling advertising laws are facing fresh criticism after it emerged they would loosen current restrictions on wagering ads during live sport on streaming platforms. While the government has presented the package as a major reform, critics argue it could allow more gambling ads to be shown online during sporting matches, not fewer.
Under existing rules, both television broadcasters and streaming services are banned from showing gambling ads during live sport from five minutes before a game starts until five minutes after it ends, including during half-time, quarter-time and other breaks, between 5am and 8.30pm. Labor’s new laws would keep similar rules for television, though the start time would shift to 6am. However, streaming services would be treated differently.
Government sources confirmed the legislation would override the current blackout for online platforms. Streaming services would be allowed to show registered adult users unlimited gambling ads during breaks in play, including half-time, quarter-time and weather delays, at any time of day. The condition is that users must be registered, verified as over 18 and given the option to opt out of gambling advertising.
Communications Minister Anika Wells defended the approach, saying the new model would provide stronger protections for children through registration, age assurance and opt-out settings, which she described as a “triple-lock function”. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also backed the package, saying people watching sport online would be able to exclude themselves from gambling advertising altogether.
But several MPs and advocates say the streaming carve-out has been poorly communicated and risks expanding gambling advertising during sport. Liberal MP Simon Kennedy said Labor had “taken a bad problem and made it worse”, warning Australians would be surprised to learn that the bill creates a new right for streaming services to show gambling ads during every break in live sport.
Independent MP Kate Chaney was sharply critical of the Prime Minister’s claim that the reforms go further than the 2023 parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which recommended a complete ban on wagering advertising.
Albanese argued the package went further than the Murphy report in some areas because it also targets online gambling, offshore lotteries, online keno, influencer promotions, stadium advertising and gambling sponsorship on jerseys. However, Chaney rejected that framing, saying the government had failed on the central issue of gambling advertising.
“Independent MP Kate Chaney said Albanese’s claim that his ‘reforms go further than the Murphy report is outrageous’.”
“When it comes to ads, you can’t go further or make it simpler or easier to enforce than a complete ban,” she said.
“Instead, the government is proposing a complicated picture of half-measures and carve-outs. This package may actually result in more ads during sport – the legislation introduced would mean that scheduled and unscheduled breaks would be carved out from the current rule against ads during live sport broadcast online.”
The issue is especially significant as more Australians shift from broadcast television to streaming services to watch major sporting events. Audience data from the FIFA World Cup showed nearly half of SBS’s viewers for one Socceroos match watched through SBS On Demand. Critics argue that relying on opt-outs may be ineffective, with reported figures suggesting only a tiny fraction of registered SBS users had opted out of ads.