ACMA warns gambling ads complaints more than double

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has urged lawmakers to address what has become a pressing matter with the number of complaints against gambling advertisements doubling during the last financial year, as reported by The Guardian, citing the regulator.

According to ACMA, regulation has struggled to keep up with consumer demands, and more importantly protect consumers from the pernicious effects of gambling ads. Consumers have long expressed their criticism against gambling product promotions, even more so than against advertisements by the oil and tobacco industries.

In August, consumers said that they were in support of banning gambling ads altogether. Meanwhile, Australia introduced new gambling ad messaging in a bid to inform the public of the dangers of the products they promoted.

Railing against gambling advertisements has given ACMA the idea to request more powers to regulate advertisements across various channels, including Facebook, YouTube, and Google. ACMA expects that should it be granted more powers, it would be able to better protect vulnerable consumers and risk groups, such as children.

ACMA submitted an opinion to the government, in which it insisted that consumers in Australia are already exposed to too much gambling:

"The high number of complaints we receive indicate that concerns remain that children and other vulnerable Australians are exposed to too much gambling advertising."

ACMA further added that the number of complaints against gambling ads went from 47 between 2018 and 2019 to 120 between 2020 and 2021. The number doubled still in the period between 2021 and 2022 to 208 total complaints.

The nature of the complaints varied, but for the most part, consumers cautioned that the number of gambling ads seen on TV was excessive and often shown at inappropriate times. Many of the slots that gambling ads took were during family viewing times when children were present.

ACMA has hailed the efforts done by some local governments to limit the reach of gambling advertisements but reminded that most of the new laws and restrictions targeting gambling ads were meant only to tackle broadcasts, and not social media and digital channels.

ACMA insisted that more needs to be done to also monitor and regulate children watching sports on streaming platforms, where gambling advertisements continued to run business as usual. ACMA’s submission urged the government to take into consideration these changing consumer behaviors, including how children consume sports these days.

Meanwhile, the regulator has been fighting against the proliferation of offshore gambling websites which have been targeting consumers in Australia.

Image credit: Unsplash.com