Victoria’s gambling regulator says more efforts needed against gambling ads

The acting Australian government under PM Anthony Albanese has been urged by the state of Victoria’s gambling regulator to take immediate action against wagering ads.

For ‘The Guardian’, Annette Kimmitt – CEO of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission – highlighted that there is a pressing issue of what she called a ‘bombardment’ of complaints from parents who report that their children are secret gamblers. 

“When people find out I am the head of the Victorian gambling regulator, I am bombarded with stories from parents of teenagers who have discovered that their children have online wagering accounts,” Kimmitt shared with the broadsheet newspaper’s Australian edition.

“The other thing that is constantly raised with me is ‘when are you going to ban the ads’? My response is, ‘I wish I could, but that is not up to me’.”

Kimmett’s comments follow recommendations made last month by Victoria’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) for further limitations to gambling advertising. 

Meanwhile, at the federal level Australia’s current cabinet has spent the last six months, if not more, debating what would be the best approach to curbing gambling harm in the country. 

In July, the Labor Party backed a country-wide blanket ban on online gambling ads across all media that would be fully implemented across the next three years through a four-stage plan.

The first two steps of the ban include the barring of gambling inducements on social media and online platforms, followed by a veto on online gambling ads in stadiums and during sporting events.

Then, rules will come into effect to ban all gambling ads from being broadcasted at certain hours until a complete phase out on all online gambling advertisements and sponsorships is introduced.

The wheels are already in motion in terms of seeking to end gambling sponsorships in sports, with reports coming out of Australia last October that sports betting firms have been approached by the country’s Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, to withdraw all of their jersey sponsorship deals in place with teams from the National Rugby League (NRL).

This came soon after the Australian Football League (AFL) took actions to reduce the influence of jersey sports betting partnerships on its teams, in a move similar to the English Premier League’s decision to phase out similar agreements by the end of the 2025/2026 season.