As the government’s proposed ban on gambling advertising looms, TV networks are proposing that spectrum fees be cut to offset the losses from major betting companies pre-emptively pulling their advertising spend.
The AFR reports that this loss is as big as $40 million.
Whilst the details of the ban haven’t been finalised, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has reportedly put forward a proposal that would see betting ads unable to air on TV, radio, and catch-up platforms an hour before and after live sport broadcasts.
The proposal also reportedly includes a cap of two ads per hour on FTA until 10pm, and a total ban on gambling ads on digital platforms and social media.
A spokesperson for Rowland said the government was “firmly committed to minimising harms from online wagering.”
“The government continues to engage with stakeholders regarding the recommendations from the online wagering inquiry as we formulate our response.”
This is a departure from the original proposal, put forward last year by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, who led a review that ultimately recommended rolling out a total ban on gambling ads over a three year period.
In response to the changes, Independent senator David Pocock accused the government of putting forward a “watered down policy to appease the gambling industry,” adding that the current proposal was “a total cop out and betrayal of the late Peta Murphy’s legacy.”
“Find some courage and end this harm,” Pocock wrote on social media.
When the concept of a total gambling ad ban was originally put forward, Bridget Fair, Free TV CEO, said it was “based on a fundamentally flawed premise that the advertising market is some kind of magic pudding. But reductions in advertising revenue in the current economic and competitive environment can only result in less funding for Australian content.”
See also: Bridget Fair: Gambling ad ban would “hurt viewers and the television services they love”
Australians spend the most in the world, per capita, on legal forms of gambling, losing $25 billion every year. Australians also lose the most money to online gambling, per capita, in the world.
On Thursday and Friday last week, the government held meetings with representatives from major sporting codes, media owners, and betting companies. The AFR reports that Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media, Paramount, and Free TV were involved, as well as Sportsbet, Entain, Tabcorp, Responsible Wagering Australia, the NRL, and the AFL.
Representatives from each company have a week to make their cases before the proposal is finalised.