Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces criticism after backing away from a proposed federal ban on online gambling advertising, opting instead for time-restricted ad placements. (Image: Australian Associated Press / Alamy)

A new poll indicates a majority of Australians would not support the federal government’s introduction of a blanket ban on advertising gambling via online platforms.

The survey was conducted over the weekend of August 30 and asked 1,550 voters across Australia their views on a range of topics, including the advertising of online casinos. The exercise found 56% of respondents supported moves to bring in more sensible and moderate restrictions on advertising gambling online, while only 37% favored a complete prohibition.

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Contentious Change

This poll from Freshwater Strategy was run as the government of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under fire after purportedly ditching plans to implement a recommended federal ban on the advertising of gambling online. The 61-year-old’s administration is instead said to be pushing for legislation that would limit the marketing of such entertainment via television and radio to two spots an hour until 10 p.m.

The Guardian reported Albanese is also thought to be in favor of introducing a federal prohibition on gambling advertisements across social media channels alongside an embargo on the transmission of iGaming ads and odds commentary an hour either side of a sports broadcast.

Adolescent Advocacy

The Freshwater Strategy survey found 37% of respondents favored bringing in new rules that would reduce children’s exposure to gambling advertisements, while 26% wanted such safeguards extended in order to protect vulnerable adults. 

The poll uncovered strong support at 70% for Albanese’s proposal to limit the broadcast of gambling advertisements via television and radio to two an hour until 10 p.m.

Fifty-four percent of those assessed furthermore advocated for a total ban on the transmission of gambling marketing spots during children’s programs and live sports broadcasts, while 46% came out in favor of the mandatory inclusion of new consumer warning messages. 

Electorate Education

The Chief Executive Officer for Responsible Wagering Australia, Kai Cantwell, said the results of this survey are in line with an earlier Freshwater Strategy poll in which 70% of respondents expressed support for increased safeguards over a blanket advertising ban. He additionally declared the exercise highlighted how Australians will opt for total prohibition only if given ‘an all or nothing proposition’ without knowledge of 'sensible, evidence-based alternatives such as opt-out provisions and age-verification requirements’.

“The government should take on board the feedback presented consistently throughout the consultations from impacted industries,” Cantwell said. 

“Sports, racing bodies, advertisers, and licensed wagering providers have all agreed that sensible middle ground positions will address the concerns of the Australian public without undermining harm reduction efforts, slashing Australian sports, racing, and media revenue, and unduly restricting the enjoyment of the majority who gamble safely and within their means.”

Injurious Impacts 

Cantwell called on Albanese’s government ‘to leverage sophisticated online platform technologies’ so as to make sure gambling advertisements are shown online only to adult users who are logged in and have not opted out of receiving such marketing materials. He asserted such an approach would ‘protect kids and vulnerable Australians’ without leading to 'severe unintended consequences’. 

“Banning online advertising will not stop Australians gambling; it will simply push Australians towards illegal offshore providers who lure customers in with large bonuses and then don’t pay out winnings or provide their customers with any safer gambling tools,” Cantwell said. 

“International evidence shows that when you over-regulate legal markets, illegal operators will fill the void, targeting children and vulnerable people with predatory advertising.”