Australia will ban gambling advertisements during live matches played before 8:30 pm according to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The ban does not include horseracing or ads for the lottery, Turnbull told reporters, who said the ban closes a longstanding exemption granted to gambling firms.
The ban is part of a larger series of reforms for Australia’s broadcasting industry that also includes cuts in fees paid by TV stations and new regulations on media ownership.
The announcement immediately raised questions as several Australian professional leagues have lucrative sponsorship deals with gambling firms. According to Bloomberg News, for example, the country’s National Rugby League has a $44 million deal with Sportsbet. Other companies that operate sports betting agencies in Australia include Bet 365 Group, Tabcorp Holdings, Ladbrokes Plc, Crown Resorts Ltd. and William Hill Plc.
Other initiatives in the broadcasting reform package will include replacing free-to-air license fees with new annual spectrum fees and changes to media ownership laws, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
Some analysts see the lessening of licensing fees—which could save licensees more than $100 million—as a tradeoff for the loss of gambling advertisement revenue.
Restrictions that stop any person controlling commercial TV licenses reaching more than 75 percent of the Australian population or any single company controlling more than two of three radio, television or newspapers in a single city will also be eliminated, Bloomberg said.
The proposals still require legislative approval. Opposition Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek told the Australian Associated Press that the Labor Party is still waiting for details on the proposals and have not decided whether to back the reforms.
“We want to see a diversity of voices in the Australian media and we know the economics of journalism have changed a great deal,” she said.
