Senate Committee Has Rebuffed Xenophon Bill Banning Gambling Ads During Live TV Sports

Senator Nick Xenophon’s is fighting to keep all gambling ads away from broadcast of live sports in Australia and it has been all but killed off in Parliament.

The Senate committee has rebuffed Mr. Xenophon’s bill of banning gambling ads during live TV sports.

The reason that the bill was rebuffed by a Senate Estimates Committee, was that such measures were not necessary as the federal government already has reforms in place.

Mr. Xenophon’s bill is quite different from the current Australian federal government’s Gambling Amendment Bill, that was introduced during 2016 which was followed by a review by the former New South Wales premier, Barry O’Farrell.

The senator, who has built most of his political career on a “tough on gambling” posturing, has called the current regulatory framework “woeful.”

Mr. Xenophon is making use of the ban on betting ads for a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Turnbull government, he is seeking to water down media ownership laws in Australia.

A few weeks ago the federal authorities revealed their plans of significantly slashing gambling ads during sports broadcasts this is an attempt at winning support from the Senate cross-bench. The crackdown on television betting of ads is facing some resistance from broadcasters, who raked in an estimated AUD$120 million (US$92.35 million) from the gambling advertising during the past year. TV broadcasters have claimed that the only winners from fewer television ads will be Facebook and Google.

Broadcasters and the sports betting operators have argued against this ban, they have noted that people under 18 years old only “comprise a very small proportion of live sport audience for events that are on television.”

Meanwhile, the Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) are expected to announce the list of concessions of reviving the “social license” of many online gambling companies in Australia, this will also reportedly include the ban on offering credit to gamblers, by removing the “sign-up” offers that are commonly used to bring in new players, and a reduction of the advertising volume during sports broadcasts.