TRANSCRIPT
A blanket ban on gambling advertising is looking increasingly unlikely with reports the federal government is considering a partial ban.
An inquiry headed by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy more than a year ago recommended a complete gambling ad ban but the government has since drafted legislation for a partial ban, seemingly overruling the recommendation of its own M-Ps.
The justification being put forward by government MPs including Bill Shorten is that a partial ban will help the assist the media sector which is facing a $300 million advertising black hole.
The government has not publicly confirmed its plans, and strict non-disclosure agreements have kept those involved in the consultation process quiet.
The Multicultural Communities Council of New South Wales says it's concerned about the impact of gambling on culturally and linguistically diverse people.
Mark Franklin, President of the New South Wales chapter of the MCC says these individuals can be more prone to developing gambling problems compared to the general population.
"Particularly the effect on some communities is disturbing because they some often, if they become deeply involved and addicted to gambling, there's a high level of stigma and shame associated with admitting being far too involved and prevents them from seeking help."
He says the ads send the wrong message.
"The form of advertising makes out that advertising is essential to be involved in Australian life and Australian culture, which is certainly very bad example to new migrants. All we want is the government to implement the unanimous decision of the inquiry that all parties agreed on. So, the sooner it accepts its own findings and acts on them, the better."
According to the Responsible Gambling Foundation, gambling advertising and inducements are known to encourage riskier betting, increase the amount of money bet, and elicit excitement that encourages people to bet even when they don’t want to.
Chief Executive of Alliance for Gambling Reform Martin Thomas also believes that the Australian community would do better without gambling ads.
"We know that Australians lose more than twenty-five billion dollars to gambling every year, and if you rip that much money out of communities, especially in a cost-of-living crisis, it causes terrible financial hardship. It causes health and mental health issues. There's evidence that it increases the likelihood of domestic violence and partner violence. And finally, there's also strong research that shows that if we collected the right data, up to 20 per cent of all suicides would probably be linked to gambling."
Meanwhile, the Australia Institute is now proposing a 2 per cent levy to offset revenue lost by media if gambling ads are banned.
In 2022-23, gambling company revenues totalled $17.2 billion dollars and the industry spent around $239 million advertising on free-to-air TV, metropolitan radio, and online.
Senior Fellow at the Australia Institute Stephen Long says a levy on gambling revenues of just 1.4 per cent could replace all that lost advertising income.
"Well, there's a basic principle in economics that, one reason you tax things is to discourage things you don't want to happen. So, we put heavy taxes on tobacco to discourage smoking. Having this levy, but also help to discourage gambling. But, at least in the short term. It would mean that the networks wouldn't lose out with revenue for public interest journalism and public interest media. So, it's good for the media in Australia, it's good for the public and public health and the only potential losers are the gambling companies."
Despite tighter restrictions introduced during live sport in 2018, the total volume of gambling advertising has increased on television and radio by 50 per cent, with $503.7 million collectively spent on marketing since the ban was introduced.
Mr Thomas of the Alliance for Gambling Reforms reiterated that action needs to be taken immediately to protect Australians.
"So, there's a million ads that are broadcast just on free to air TV and radio each year in Australia. We are calling for the government to act on the recommendations of the Murphy report, which is a report by one of their own MPs that has 31 recommendations, and one of these is a complete ban on all gambling advertising phased in over three years. We believe this simply reflects what happened with tobacco advertising decades ago and could easily be done and should be done to protect Australians."
