Australia to Ban Gambling Ads During Some Live Sporting Events

On March 30th gambling businesses in Australia will face a new restriction, as they will no longer be able to display advertisements for daytime live sports broadcasts.

The restriction on betting adverts will take place during sporting events that air nationally between the hours of 5am-8:30pm. The move is being made to reduce the exposure of gambling ads being seen by children. The restriction will be in place from 5 minutes before the game until 5 minutes afterward. Although the ban will apply to high spectator channels, smaller channels like ESPN and Eurosports will be exempted. Additionally, horse and dog racing will also be exempt from this rule change.

Commenting on the change Australian Subscription Television Association board member Bruce Meagher said, "The principle is that the small channels would be disproportionately affected; very few children watch these channels."