Australia's sports betting ad ban could cost USD 179M in TV ad revenue

Under the current legislation, wagering ads on TV are restricted to 10% of advertising content during a match. For sports like NRL, this may amount to about seven or eight betting ads per match, but for AFL ad breaks vary depending on how many goals are scored.

In the past 12 months, betting shops spent USD 179M on free-to-air metro and regional TV advertising, according to Nielsen figures. The biggest advertiser spender in the market is Sportsbet, followed by William Hill.

A blanket ban would strike a significant financial blow to TV networks and the amount of revenue that broadcasters and administration bodies are able to generate from live sport.

Opposition

TV networks are strongly opposed to a ban on betting advertising during matches and argue that it will only encourage betting shops to advertise more on digital media like Facebook, where a high volume of ads are served.

“The reported gambling advertising restrictions would have a significant impact on the future value of sporting rights for FTA broadcasters and as a result we are likely to see more of them migrating to unregulated platforms run by foreign multinationals,” a Seven spokesperson said.

“It is more important than ever that we support Australian industry which is why we urge the government to act quickly on licence fee reductions for commercial television.”