Announced today (31 October) at its 2024 Upfronts, SBS will be launching a beta service in Q1 of 2024. This service will provide a gambling ad blocking feature for users of its SBS On Demand platform. More details about the service will be revealed in the New Year. However, SBS has confirmed that users will have the option to opt out of gambling, alcohol, and quick-service restaurant ads.
SBS managing director James Taylor has stated that this initiative has already received support from Australian gambling giant Tabcorp. Taylor said, “SBS already takes significant steps to ensure we are meeting the responsible advertising expectations of our audience. We have age restrictions on SBS On Demand and we remove certain ad categories from specific programming, particularly shows that tackle difficult or sensitive topics like Addicted Australia. For certain categories, SBS will leverage the advantages of digital platforms to give more control to our audience. Audiences have always had complete control over what they watch on SBS On Demand. Now, they will also have greater control over the ads they see. This benefits the advertiser by not wasting money on reaching people who have no interest in their product. This is responsible advertising at its best.”
This opt-out feature adds to the range of responsible gambling options available to consumers in Australia. The country’s BetStop national self-exclusion scheme, which was launched in August this year, has already garnered over 100,000 registrations. It allows players to self-exclude from gambling for a minimum of three months and can be extended to a lifetime ban. Early data indicates that most people choose the lifetime option, and the registration process takes less than five minutes. BetStop is part of the National Consumer Protection Framework, which also includes mandatory pre-verification requirements introduced by the Australian government. Operators are now required to verify a customer’s identity before they can create an account and start betting. Australia is also taking steps to ban the use of credit cards, other credit-related products, and digital currencies for online wagering. Legislation to enforce this ban was tabled by the government in September. The government has also implemented evidence-based taglines, replacing “Gamble Responsibly,” and introduced nationally consistent training for staff in the gambling sector.
In recent data released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on gambling ad prevalence in 2022-23, it was revealed that over one million gambling ads appeared on Australian free-to-air television and metro radio. Of all the ads on these platforms, 50% (502,800) came from licensed online gambling operators. Online gambling ads made up 51% of all metro free-to-air TV ads (256,000), while 20% were for lotteries (99,500), and 17% were for lottos (84,000). The remaining ads focused on on-premises gambling and horse, harness, and greyhound racing services.
