Free to Air TV tops gambling advertising
Ad spend on gambling is highest on Metro TV, with 9 - 10 pm as peak promotion window.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
Media watchdog the Australian Communications & Media Authority has found $238.63 million was spent on advertising on free-to-air TV (in metro and regional TV markets), metro radio and online.
ACMA commissioned Nielsen to survey all gambling advertisements on radio, television and online (including social media) platforms between May 2022 and April 2023.
Over 1 million gambling ads aired on free-to-air TV (metro and regional) and metro radio, with 50% (502,800 spots) from gambling providers offering online gambling services (online gambling providers).
51% (256,200 spots) of the total gambling ads on metro free-to-air TV were ads by online gambling providers.
58% (196,400 spots) of the total gambling ads on regional free-to-air TV were by online gambling providers.
Free-to-air TV is the market with the greatest ad spend. 68% was spent in free-to-air TV markets ($133m on metro and $29m on regional), 15% was spent on social media ($34.6m), 9% in metro radio markets ($22.4m) and 8% on other online platforms (websites and apps) ($19.5m).
Gambling advertising spots on free-to-air TV peak in the evenings. 22% of gambling ads shown on free-to-air TV were aired between 7 and 10 pm. Between 9 and 10 pm saw the highest number of ads airing in both metro (41,300) and regional (35,800) TV markets.
In the 12 months between May 2022 and April 2023, over half a million (504,100) gambling ads aired on metro TV:
51% were ads by online gambling providers (256,200 spots)
20% were ads for lotteries (99,500 spots)
17% were ads for lottos (84,000 spots).
Advertisements from providers of online gambling services increased in the evening and peaked in the 9 to 10 pm hour, with 24,000 spots airing in the 12-month period.
The findings came ahead of the federal government ruling on recommendation to ban all gambling advertising from online bookmakers within three years.
8 Responses
I’ll have to find it again, but I remember reading somewhere once than a single Australian commercial television network would air more gambling adverts in an hour of prime-time television than the entire UK radio and television industries would air in a week. The government needs to take action on this sooner rather than later, it’s getting out of control.
While companies and government are happy to accept money for an immoral cause then this will continue!
Should just ban them all but it will never happen cos they make too much. I’m so sick of them. Everywhere you look you can’t escape them.
They might as well just let smoking ads be legal again – does less damage than gambling.
I am used to it on the FTA sports coverage and just mute the TV when it comes up.
But when I had to go to the 9Now streaming site to watch a few episodes of a show I missed, I was absolutely blown away by the number of gambling ads in every ad break. Often there were ads for the 3 major on-line gambling apps in the one break and then again break after break.
It is an insidious social, mental and economic disease that unfortunately the government is also addicted to the tax revenue it brings in, so I won’t hold my breath waiting for them to reign it back in.
On terrestrial TV the ads are just loud and annoying, with the gambling message at the end being about half the volume of the rest of the ad. But on catch up apps, like 9Now, 10Play, the gambling adds often have a QR code sitting there for 15 seconds or more saying bet now – this type of betting ad that facilitates taking you directly to a betting site or app should be banned completely.
At least they’re not doing it when most kiddies are awake
Disagree. As the graphs show, quite a hefty number at 7pm-8pm. But then it’s the adult ‘kiddies’ that are brainwashed too.