Gambling ads must not feature in Olympic coverage
25 July 2024
The Olympics broadcaster, the Nine Network, is on notice not to breach the advertising code by running gambling ads during its free-to-air and online coverage of the Paris games.
Last Olympics the then broadcaster Seven aired 49 betting promotions during its Olympic coverage on its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide broadcasts. Seven was also found to have made gambling advertisements available on its live stream of the Olympics
“We are putting Nine on notice and we want to enlist the support of the public to report any breaches of code during the coverage of the Paris Olympics,” Interim CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Martin Thomas, said.
“Kids watching the Olympics don’t need to see gambling ads. Sporting coverage in this country is already drenched in gambling advertising. Too often our children can quote the odds just as easily as they can cite their favourite player.”
“Nine is to be congratulated for not having gambling companies among its primary Olympic sponsors but given the history of breaches in the past, we want to ensure there are no gambling ads run before 8.30pm throughout the coverage of the Olympics.”
Under the regulations, broadcasters are restricted from showing gambling advertising during their coverage and streaming of live sporting events shown between 5am and 8:30pm.
For long-form events, such as the Olympics, broadcasters must not show gambling advertising from 5 minutes before the start of the first event of the day until 8:30pm, and not more than once every two hours after that time.
Nine was found guilty of breaching the broadcast guidelines when it ran a gambling advertisement during the half-time break of the NRL grand final on 3 October 2021.
As result of past breaches Seven and Nine have each entered into court-enforceable undertakings with the advertising regulator, requiring them to implement systems to avoid breaking the rules again and refresh training for staff responsible for the scheduling and broadcast of gambling advertisements during sports programming. They each must also track the complaints and responses about gambling advertisements.
Breaches can be reported to the Australian Communications and Media Authority at Gambling advertising online complaint form | ACMA
Martin Thomas is available for interview on 0477 340 704