Gambling Ads in Australia

As gambling continues to grow in popularity in Australia, you may have noticed an increase in the number of gambling ads you see and hear – on the telly, on the radio, in the breaks when you are watching your favourite footy team play. 

But have you ever wondered what the rules are when it comes to promoting gambling? Or wondered why you only ever see and hear this advertising during certain times of the day? 

Promoting gambling can be a tricky business in Australia due to the nature of the industry, in the same way that it can be complicated to promote alcohol. Advertisers do not have free reign to promote what they want when they want; there are rules in place that place restrictions on what can be said, where, and when. 

This is because minors are prohibited from gambling, and so there are restrictions imposed to ensure gambling is not promoted to the wrong audience.

In this article, we’re exploring the fascinating world of advertising regulations and taking a look at the gambling ads rules that are in place in Australia to protect consumers, minors, and the public at large. 

Gambling advertising is the promotion of gambling services provided by casino operators, lotteries, sportsbooks, and any other organisations that provide gambling activities to the Australian public. Advertisers use various methods to encourage consumers to select their products and services over those of their competitors. 

As with any advertising, the purpose behind gambling ads is for operators to promote the services they offer in a bid to win a share of the market. Gambling is a huge industry in Australia and incredibly competitive, with many service providers competing for your attention, trying to entice players over to their platform with welcome bonuses, promotions, and special offers. 

To ensure their messaging is effective, marketers spend their advertising dollars securing advertising space in places most likely to be seen by their target audience. For example, if you’re a fan of watching sports, you’ll notice more sportsbook advertising as the provider knows it has a captive audience. 

To promote gambling in Australia, it’s important for advertisers to adhere to the strict rules and regulations that are in place regarding the placement of a gambling ad. This is to ensure inappropriate messaging does not get directed to the wrong audience, and contravening this can have serious consequences for suppliers. 

Gambling is a strictly adult-only activity, and children should not be subjected to casino ads or any media encouraging participation in gambling. Children should be protected from potentially harmful or addictive activities as they may not fully comprehend the consequences in the way that adults do.

This is why these regulations are in place and closely monitored by nationwide agencies as well as individual state and territory authorities that regulate gambling services in their jurisdictions.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for regulating gambling advertising on broadcast TV, radio, and online platforms.

The Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) oversees the self-regulatory system for advertising, including gambling and casino ads, and reviews complaints from the public.

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) sets codes of practice for advertising, which includes the Code for Gambling Advertising & Marketing Communication. Their aim with the latter is to ensure that gambling ads are socially responsible and do not target minors.

Gambling advertising in Australia is subject to various rules and regulations that are enforced by the agencies introduced above, depending on the type of service, the platform being used, and the time of the day. 

To give you an idea of the type of restrictions in place, we have listed below some of the main gambling advertising rules that are currently in force regarding gambling ads at the time of writing.

Remember that these are subject to change with further legislation as the industry continues to develop and evolve: 

If you come across any advertisements that you believe are contravening any of the gambling ads rules that we have listed above, you can make a complaint to various agencies, depending on the type of ad and platform:

You can find out more on the ACMA website.