Optus Sport, the streaming service that broadcasts English Premier League (EPL) soccer games in Australia, is being investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for featuring advertisements for offshore gaming sites during its broadcast of a December match between Manchester City and Aston Villa.
According to the Guardian, a complaint was filed to the ACMA by Jack Kerr, an investigative journalist and gambling researcher. The sites, whose billboards were shown prominently next to the field of play throughout the match, are illegal in Australia, and therefore it is illegal to feature their ads in Australian broadcasts.
Optus has been the primary broadcaster of EPL matches in Australia for the last eight years and recently extended their media rights contract until the 2027-2028 league season in a AU$600 million deal.
The country’s Interactive Gambling Act prohibits any offshore companies from operating or advertising in the market, except as an “accidental or incidental accompaniment to the publication of other matter.”
Kerr asserted in his complaint to the ACMA that these sites are “one of the most frequently seen products on these pitch-side billboards,” and added that teams are partnered with these companies to show their ads “throughout a match.”
“Their prominence clearly demonstrates this,” Kerr wrote, per the Guardian. “Doubledecker digital billboards that wrap around the venue and which promote a product that Australians can access cannot be considered as ‘incidental’; they are there to grab viewers’ attention and lure them in.”
In response, an agency spokesperson told the newspaper that it was “considering the information provided, including the context in which the content was alleged to have occurred.”
One of the companies in particular that was shown was 8XBet, which was “previously investigated” by the agency and withdrew from the market as a result, the spokesperson said.
For its part, Optus said in a statement that it “complies with the relevant Australian laws in its coverage of all rights and content,” and pointed to the exception to the law mentioned above. It also noted that it is “prohibited by the rights owners from replacing any pitch-side ads using virtual advertising or otherwise.”
In addition to 8XBet, other companies that are often featured in league ads from various teams include W88, Parimatch, 6686, BK8 and Kaiyun. In response to increased scrutiny, EPL clubs agreed last year to phase out gambling-related jersey sponsorships starting in 2026.
