Experts and crossbench MPs including David Pocock say Labour’s plan to impose a partial ban on gambling advertising is ripe for exploitation, saying warning rules applying to podcasters, social media platforms and influencers need to be tightened.
But industry sources say podcast companies including Apple could consider removing all wagering ads if there was no simple mechanism to work within the rules.
Streaming video, music and podcast platforms, search engines and websites that offer speculative content, including NRL and AFL, will require users to sign in, confirm they are over 18, and allow them to opt out of viewing speculative content, according to. A report by the Government’s Impact Analysis OfficeReleased on Tuesday.
Labor says the so-called “triple lock functionality” will prevent children from seeing betting ads and allow adults to opt out.
Simon McCarthy, a gambling and public health researcher at Deakin University, said the current outline of new gambling rules to be tabled in Parliament next month would need to address a number of gray areas that gambling companies and social media could exploit.
“When people work with advertisers on podcasts, they often read an ad that is embedded in their podcast, so it… doesn’t sit apart from the entire content,” she said. “If advertising is built into the podcast itself, which is being read by the host, you can’t turn it off.
“We just know that podcasts are extremely popular with younger audiences and … it’s not easy to regulate them in terms of age accessibility and age range, as the government hopes to do. So I think this may create somewhat of a blind spot in the existing policies that are built around platforms where audiences can be more clearly differentiated.”
A number of sports podcasts are sponsored by betting companies, including Bloke in a Bar and Hello Sport, as well as podcasts by traditional media outlets including Nine and The West Australian.
Multiple industry sources said platforms and broadcasters are currently considering options for implementing age limits. The sources said platforms including Apple Podcasts – which must verify logins for adults under a triple-lock function and provide opt-out mechanisms for gambling ads – may consider removing all betting content.
It is unclear how the rules will apply to individual podcasts and the apps on which they appear, and which entity will have responsibility for removing gambling ads, or creating an opt-out function.
Wagering content on social media has also become more sophisticated, with companies like Sportsbet working closely with influencers who have thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers on content that does not directly encourage viewers to gamble.
Independent senator David Pocock said the reach of wagering advertisements in popular podcasts shows how “this predatory industry rapidly innovates and moves to target new mediums and markets”.
“Protecting Australians, particularly children and young people, from gambling advertising on popular online platforms from podcasts to Spotify to YouTube appears almost impractical 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 nation.”
Kate Cheney, an independent MP who sat at the gambling inquiry alongside the late Peta Murphy, said the government’s reforms should not put the onus on adults to opt out.
“Calling it ‘triple-lock’ makes it sound more protective than it actually is – most families share streaming accounts and unless parents painstakingly go through each platform, website and streaming service and manually find and activate opt-out options, gambling ads will continue to be seen,” she said.
“There is little evidence in the real world that the opt-out model will reduce the social, emotional and financial harms caused by gambling in Australia.”
McCarthy said the rules would need to be tightened to ensure content creators who may have small but influential followers are not covered by the ban. He also warned that betting companies will 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 close those loopholes,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government’s legislation would include more “specific definitions” to avoid loopholes.
“Further details and specific definitions will be refined through a legislative drafting process, which will include consultation with key stakeholders,” he said.
