Across ANZ: Government Cracks Down On Gambling Advertisements
Eyestetix Studio
Australia has had a major gambling problem for many years, with several statistics pointing towards the issue being far larger than one would anticipate. Australians make up less than 1% of the world’s population, and the country is also home to 18% of the world's slot machines, or “pokies”, as they are called colloquially. This places Australia at a higher number of slot machines per capita than even Las Vegas. The sheer number of slot machines in the country allows Australians to easily access casinos and other gambling venues, wherein they can easily become susceptible to addiction.
The issues surrounding gambling have grown over time, with spending, advertisements, and addiction across the country rising. These statistics were tracked by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, highlighting the uptick in gambling-related issues in the country. Most notably, between 2015 and 2022, individual spending on slot machines nearly doubled, going from about $120 AUD to over $240 AUD per year. This accounts only for the average self-reported gambling spending, meaning the actual value could be much higher due to unreported severe gambling addicts.
The Productivity Commission keeps track of several statistics related to gambling in the country, and its findings help to unveil some of the key issues of gambling’s prevalence in the nation. In 2010, they found that an estimated 41% of money spent on slot machines came from those with serious gambling addiction, with another roughly 20% coming from those with moderate gambling problems. With well over half of the money spent on gambling coming from those already afflicted by addiction on some level, it is clear that some level of intervention is needed.
What’s Being Done
Recently, the Australian government has renewed its attempts to combat the rampant gambling issues that impact the nation, by targeting gambling advertisements. New reforms will see gambling ads capped to three hours on television between the hours of 6:00 AM and 8:30 PM, banned on radios during school drop-off and pick-up hours, banned on online platforms unless a user has an account verified as over 18 years of age, and banned in sports venues and player uniforms. Additionally, celebrities and athletes are banned from appearing in gambling advertisements.
The Australian Parliament has recognized that the general public is frustrated with gambling advertisements, particularly how exposed children are to them. They have proposed many possible approaches to solving this issue, yet the regulations imposed so far have undershot the mark, not properly satisfying the Australian people.
These new restrictions are already being criticized for being ineffective for several reasons. The opposition party in Australia has deemed the new limitations to be “unworkable” due to the manner in which they attempt to combat online advertising. The criticisms stem from the inability to accurately discern the age of an online user on several digital platforms. Many children share accounts with their parents, who would have verified adult accounts, essentially sidestepping the limitations on advertising to children online. Australia’s gambling industry has significantly ramped up its advertising in recent years, moving steadily into online spaces such as podcasts or social media. These are spaces that cannot so easily be regulated by the government and are also frequented by youths, leading to regulations on gambling advertisement being rather ineffectual.
Many of these restrictions were proposed to protect Australian youths, but they will not accomplish this goal. One main reason for this is the pushback to imposing restrictions brought on by the gambling industry officials. Due to how large the gambling industry is in Australia, many lobbyists support the casino and online gambling industries, hindering the abilities of Australian lawmakers to impose major restrictions on these industries. Lobbying groups such as Responsible Wagering Australia are responsible for opposing the government in making any major changes that may impact the profits of the gambling industry. In fact, Independent Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie stated:
“Lobbying on behalf of the two industries is so powerful it forces governments to have relatively weak regulation”
These lobbyists have a large influence on Australian politics due to their financial backing from gambling industries. Gambling being so prevalent gives these industries the capital required to sway political conversation to a more favorable outcome in terms of gambling regulations. In 2022 the Tasmanian Labor Party (TLP) proposed the phasing out of slot machines in pubs and clubs, yet this proposal never saw further discussion following a $217,000 AUD donation from the Tasmanian Hospitality Association (THA) to the TLP.
Campaign donations are made public by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), and they found that the THA donated several more large sums to the TLP leading up to major elections. While unclear as to what impact these donations had on elections and policy, the simple amount donated highlights the power and authority that gambling industry lobbyists have over Australian politics.
As the government attempts to regulate the gambling industry in the present day, gambling industry officials have already spoken out regarding potential harm to profits if any major restrictions were to be implemented. The relatively ineffective restrictions imposed most recently possibly reflect the government's relative inability to impose authority over the gambling industry due to the overall power of industry lobbyists.
