The changes follow the government’s formal response to the 2023 review into online gambling, which has been building pressure for tougher rules amid growing concern about the constant stream of betting promotions during major sporting events and family viewing times. For years, gambling brands have used prime-time TV, radio and digital platforms to push odds, offers and sponsorship-led messaging, often bundled in with sports coverage that attracts large audiences, including younger viewers.
Under the new framework, gambling ads will disappear from broadcast television during live sport from 1 January next year, and outside those games they will be capped at roughly three spots an hour between 6am and 8.30pm, cutting into a key revenue source for networks. Radio stations will no longer be able to run gambling promos around school drop-off and pick-up times, online betting ads will only be allowed when users are logged in, over 18 and able to opt out, and brands will be blocked from using celebrities, players, odds-focused spots and cross-promotional content that blends commentary with betting.
In the bigger picture, the crackdown looks like a clear shift toward treating gambling as a public health issue rather than just a consumer choice, but it also raises questions about how sporting bodies, media outlets and digital platforms will replace lost advertising income and whether betting operators will move spending into less regulated channels like in-venue promotions or offshore platforms.
