Possible Gambling Advertising Ban On Australian TV
In Australia, a bill has been introduced for a ban on gambling advertisements on television, whilst the social media platform TikTok is choosing to allow more gambling advertising.聽
The platform recently allowed Sportsbet, an online gambling company, to advertise and has now announced that two new gambling companies in Australia will be allowed to advertise on TikTok.
Last week, Australian parliament member Zoe Daniel introduced a bill for a ban on gambling advertisements on TV. The bill is similar to the ban on tobacco advertising introduced in Australia in 1976. A ban doesn鈥檛 seem very likely for the near future.
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Ban On Gambling Ads
According to The Canberra Times, Daniel said the following about it:
As gambling ads reach saturation levels and infiltrate the minds of our young people in increasingly insidious ways, to the point where the multis are now more interesting than the games themselves, we need to act. Gambling is also a matter of public health. We need to put an end to gambling ads and property tax on the gambling industry’s profits to compensate for the potential loss of revenue for sports.聽
Australian parliament member Zoe Daniel
However, TikTok does not expect Daniel’s bill to be passed in the near future. The government is currently awaiting the findings of a report on gambling advertising in Australia.
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More Gambling Ads on TikTok in Australia
Earlier this year, the Australian bookmaker Sportsbet was the first online gambling company allowed to advertise on TikTok. Normally, the social media platform prohibits promotion of (online) gambling, but it made an exception for Sportsbet. According to Tiktok, the promotion was meant as a special campaign to attract more female customers. The advertisement targeted young women and was about Rihanna’s performance during the SuperBowl. The ad was only visible to women in Australia who were 21 years or older. Users also had the option to hide the ad.
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TikTok Ads Target Users Older Than 21
The pilot programme to allow gambling advertising in Australia has been expanded this week with two new online gambling companies, as reported by The Guardian. According to the Guardians, these operators are Neds and Dabble. In the ads, Neds, which is owned by Entain, tries to persuade users to download the Neds app. Dabble uses former AFL star Dane Swan to strengthen its profile on TikTok through promoted content.
A TikTok spokesperson said:
The ads are targeted at individuals aged 21 and above, there is a maximum frequency at which the ads are shown, as well as an opt-out function for those who do not want to see the ads. We also continue to monitor the ads to ensure all users have a safe experience.
The Guardian also spoke with Simone McCarthy, a researcher at Deakin University specialised in gambling:
“This just shows that bookmakers are always one step ahead. It’s quite concerning to just look at the impact of gambling advertising with sports, given that young people spend most of their time on social media. Bookmakers are engaged and moving to these platforms where governments are not paying attention.”
Simone McCarthy, Researcher
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