Australian PM says gambling ad ban would be hard to enforce

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in an interview with ABC News, said his government will not be bringing in an outright ban on gambling advertisements after saying it would be difficult to enforce.

The Prime Minister’s comments come after a review that was co-authored by the Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin, found links between gambling and domestic and sexual violence.

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Funding issues for sports and media have been brought up as one reason why an outright ban might not be possible. Another, Albanese has mentioned, is that players may turn to illegal alternatives.

“What’s in our mind is the practicalities of whether people just go offshore, then there’s no revenue at all. They engage in gambling with no revenue coming back at all. And it doesn’t solve the problem,” Albanese told reporters.

The government is expected to make moves around the end of the year to combat the gambling issue, and there is bipartisan support for stronger action to be introduced to tackle problems.

Sportsbook operator Sportsbet also has come under fire this month after it was found to still be promoting its same-game multi-bets on the AFL website after pulling the same ads from live broadcasts. Because of this, gambling reform advocates called out the government for its failure to properly regulate the gambling industry.

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