Labor’s planned gambling ad limits have influencer ‘blind spots’, experts warn | Gambling

Experts and MPs including David Pocock say Labour’s plan to partially ban gambling advertising is ripe for abuse and warning rules on podcasters, social media platforms and influencers need to be tightened.

But industry sources say podcast companies, including Apple, may consider removing all betting ads if there isn’t a simple mechanism to work within the rules.

Accordingly, video, music and podcast platforms, search engines and websites offering betting content, including those for the NRL and AFL, will require users to log in, confirm they are over 18 and allow them to opt out of seeing betting content. A report prepared by the government’s impact analysis officeIt was published on Tuesday.

Labor says so-called “triple lock functionality” will prevent children from seeing betting ads and allow adults to opt out.

Simone McCarthy, a researcher in gambling and public health at Deakin University, said the current framework for new gambling rules, due to be introduced to parliament next month, needed to address the various gray areas that gambling companies and social media could exploit.

“When people work with advertisers on podcasts, they often have an ad read embedded in their podcast, so it…doesn’t stand apart from the entire content,” he said. “If the ad itself is embedded within the podcast and is being read by the host, you can’t just turn it off.

“We know that podcasts are hugely popular with younger audiences and… it’s not easy to regulate in terms of age access and age restriction, which the government is hoping to do. So I think it could create a bit of a blind spot in existing policies that are created around platforms where audiences can be more clearly separated.”

A multitude of sports podcasts are supported by betting companies such as Bloke in a Bar and Hello Sport, as well as podcasts from traditional media outlets such as Nine and the West Australian.

Various industry sources have said that platforms and publishers are currently considering options to impose age restrictions. Sources said platforms may consider removing all betting content, including Apple Podcasts, which must verify adults’ login credentials under the triple-lock function and provide an opt-out mechanism for gambling ads.

It’s unclear how the rules will apply to individual podcasts and the apps they appear on, and which organization will be responsible for creating the functionality to remove or disable gambling ads.

Betting content has also become more sophisticated on social media, with companies like Sportsbet collaborating with influencers with tens or even hundreds of thousands of followers on content that does not directly encourage the viewer to gamble.

Independent senator David Pocock said the reach of betting ads on popular podcasts showed “how this predatory industry is innovating and pivoting rapidly to target new mediums and markets”.

“Protecting Australians, especially children and young people, from gambling advertising on popular online platforms from podcasts to Spotify and YouTube appears virtually unworkable under the current proposal,” he said.

“The government’s own analysis found that implementing this partial ban would cost more and provide less benefit to the country.”

Independent MP Kate Chaney, who was involved with the late Peta Murphy in the gambling inquiry, said the government’s reforms should not impose obligations on adults to opt out.

“Calling this a ‘triple lock’ sounds much more protective than it actually is; most families share streaming accounts, and unless parents scrutinize every platform, website and streaming service and manually find and enable opt-out options, gambling ads will continue to appear,” he said.

“There is little real-world evidence to suggest that an opt-out model will reduce the social, emotional and financial harm caused by gambling in Australia.”

McCarthy said regulations need to be tightened to ensure that creators with a small but influential following fall within the scope of the ban. He also warned that betting companies would try to find other ways to share social media content.

“We know that if we leave loopholes in gambling regulation, the industry will not hesitate to step into those loopholes,” he said.

Communications minister spokeswoman Anika Wells said government legislation would include more “specific definitions” to avoid loopholes.

“More detail and specific definitions will be refined through the drafting process, which will include consultation with key stakeholders,” he said.