Come March 30th, the majority of sporting events broadcast on Australia's TV channels will not be featuring betting advertisements. This is the final decision brought by the Australian federal government this past Friday.
The ban on betting ads will apply to all daytime sport events broadcast live from 5 AM to 8:30 PM. TV channels broadcasting the live sporting events will not be permitted to air any ads related to any form of betting or gambling during the event, as well as within five minutes before and after the event has ended.
Australia's officials explain this move as an attempt to protect the most vulnerable parts of the population, children, from being exposed to gambling-related ads that could lead them to harm. The ban will apply to most sporting events - the only exclusions are the "low audience" sports channels. The ban will not apply to dog or horse racing events. Also, channels like ESPN, ESPN2 and Eurosport will be absolved of this ban.
Back in May 2017, Australia's Prime Minister, Malcoln Turnbull, suggested that the country may soon be implementing this ban, as it was a cause of debate for a long time. Bruce Meagher, board member of Australian Subscription Television Association, said: "The principle is that the small channels would be disproportionately affected; very few children watch these channels."
However, Alliance of Gambling Reform's spokesperson, Stephen Mayne, is not of the opinion that the ban will be effective and thinks it leaves a lot to be desired: "The code is complex and some of the provisions are open to interpretation, such as whether Western Australian and South Australian viewers will face advertising earlier than the east coast. The Alliance will wait and see how it operates after April 1."
sharpe 5 years ago
A good decision of course but something not clear to me, is that ban would be only for televised sporting events or as a a whole in between those hours? Anyway, it's for a good I believe as the kids eyes should see as little of that as possible.
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Marinna_136139 5 years ago
I'm not sure that children watch those commercials at all, but it is good to do everything we can to protect them.
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