The Albanese government’s crackdown on gambling advertising is seen as an “opportunity” for brand marketers, with brands not having to compete with the deep pockets of wagering services.
Come January 1, betting companies will be banned from advertising during live sporting events, on team uniforms and in stadiums. Gambling advertising on TV will also be restricted to no more than three clips each hour between 6am and 8.30pm, while there will be a total ban on wagering ads on the radio during 8am-9am and 3pm-4pm.
Darren Woolley, the founder and global CEO of Trinity P3 sees this as an opportunity for brands to “step up and own the sporting area.”
“They [brands] were competing with very deep pockets for a long time with with the gambling brands to get into that area. If there’s a brand out there that sees sport as a great opportunity, then now’s the time for them to make a move and start to own it. And the good thing that we’re seeing happening with sport is that, you know, it’s not just male dominated anymore. We’re seeing the rise of female sport and drawing a very broad audience beyond the sort of the stereotype of thinking it’s a very masculine audience,” he told B&T.
Jack Playfair head of partnerships, Sport & Entertainment, M+C Saatchi, also sees the crackdown sees a clear opportunity for other brands to step in.
“For marketers in Australia, the recent crackdown on gambling advertising is not just a wagering or sports story. It’s another sign that mass audience environments are becoming more regulated, more premium, and more contested between brands. As a result, marketers will need to work harder to reach the same audiences and be far more strategic in how they build scale across the board. As gambling brands lose visibility across stadium LED, big screens, and IPTV inventory, as well as on athlete jerseys, it will also create a broader conversation around which brands can occupy those culturally powerful spaces,” he told B&T.
“For marketers, that makes partnerships and sponsorships even more valuable, but it also raises the bar. Brands will need to move beyond visibility alone and create more owned moments, experiences and content that build relevance with audiences in a more meaningful way.”
But just because the Albanese Government has created this opportunity doesn’t mean brands should go in blind. Havas Play managing partner Nick Smith has warned marketers about the dangers of rushing in without too much thought.
“The inventory opening up here is significant across broadcast, jersey and stadium media, and marketers should absolutely be paying attention. However, the worst outcome would be brands rushing to fill the space wagering companies left behind without asking why fans should care. Reach without relevance is just noise, and in sport, fans have very little patience for noise. The bar for what genuine cultural participation looks like has never been higher.”
It is not only traditional media channels that the new crackdown effects. Advertising on social media and online video apps will be limited to accounts where the user is verified as an adult, and all users will have the option to opt out of seeing gambling ads. And for a player like Sportsbet who likes to leverage athletes like Alexander Volkanovski, it will have to reassess its marketing stratagy as celebrities and professional sportspeople will also no longer be allowed to appear in ads for betting companies.
Woolley explained that he suspects removing well known faces from gambling ads was to remove the social endorsement.
“You’re arguing that gambling is a social problem in society, one of the things you would do is stop high profile people endorsing it, because that sends a totally separate message. It sends a message that it’s acceptable. The sporting codes want it to be acceptable because it’s a rich source of income for them,” he said.
The Albanese government announced the reforms on Thursday, more than three years after the landmark Murphy review into gambling advertising was handed down
“We are getting the balance right. Letting adults have a punt if they want to, but making sure our children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look. Because we don’t want kids growing up thinking that footy and gambling are inextricably linked,” Albanese told the Press Club.
The reforms mark a significant reset for the industry—reducing gambling’s grip on sport while opening the door for a broader mix of brands to step into premium, culturally influential spaces.
“Sports always been a bit more expensive than other other content. But then you’re getting an audience, so this crackdown means that you can target your audience with less competition in the sporting space,” concluded Woolley.
