Australians lead the world when it comes to gambling and this is whats behind our addiction - ABC News
Australians lead the world when it comes to gambling. But the only area of gaming and gambling where we appear to be lacking is in the area of legislation and oversight. By chief business correspondent Ian Verrender
- Topic:Gambling
Mon 2 SepMonday 2 SeptemberMon 2 Sep 2024 at 6:41pm Sometime in the next few weeks, the federal government will impose restrictions on gambling advertising that will fall far short of the blanket ban for which many are calling.
Free-to-air television is chock full of ads for online gambling, especially for sport, a key component of the free-to-air program mix, thereby creating a powerful alliance of interests.
Traditional media is in the final stage of a pitched battle for survival after the tech giants muscled in and mopped up their revenue with razor-sharp technology tailored to directly tap into an individual’s needs and desires.
Why are we talking about gambling ads funding TV?
Photo shows Footy players jump in the air to catch the ball during a game, while a bet365 ad blinks from the stadium.The cost of problem gambling is much bigger than the projected cost to the free-to-air television industry of a gambling ad ban — but those paying it are more disparate, less audible, and less good at lobbying.
Losing another stream of cash wouldn’t be fatal, but it would be a serious blow. Not surprisingly, the online gambling industry, which is still trying to build a profile, has pulled out all stops to thwart the changes in a strategy dressed up as maintaining an independent media industry.
The symbiotic links between commercial media and gambling occasionally have been blurred, most recently with News Corp’s creation of The Code, a sports website that cross-referenced gambling odds.
The Murdoch family media company also briefly joined forces with Matt Tripp’s BETR gambling agency, an alliance which now has been unwound.
But it was an illustration of just how close the industries have become and the potential for wielding political influence.
NSW, the gambling state
When it comes to gambling and regulatory capture, you need look no further than NSW.
Back in the mid-1980s, Las Vegas emissaries arrived in Sydney en masse, frothing at the prospect of a government-sanctioned monopoly casino in what appeared to be gambling heaven.
When they arrived, most were stunned to find the city and the entire state riddled with “clubs” — non-profit ventures filled with poker machines.
Loading"There are casinos on every corner," one American operator then complained to your correspondent.
At that stage, with pokies banned in Victoria and Queensland, Albury was a magnet for Victorians, while Tweed Heads played host to one of the biggest recreational establishments catering for returned military servicemen in the world.
Attempting any kind of restraint on gaming and gambling ever since has met fierce opposition from the clubs
Until recently, ClubsNSW would sign a memorandum of understanding with any incoming government.
The Minns government last year wound back the previous Perrottet government’s commitment to have cashless gaming by 2028 — which would more easily identify problem gamblers and money-laundering activities — and instead decided upon a “trial”.
Chris Minns’s government had promised a cashless gaming trial on 500 poker machines, which has been expanded to include an additional 4,000 machines. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
The top 20 clubs in NSW have almost 11,000 machines that contribute to the $7 billion in losses from punters across the state.
In all, the state has more than 85,000 poker machines in clubs, pubs and casinos, a situation that has sparked an uproar from even the union movement which earlier this year called for an urgent reduction in pokie numbers.
Betting on the future
There’s no way you can ban gambling.
Back in the 1970s, those frequenting the Forbes Club in Sydney, an illegal casino in Woolloomooloo, could occasionally rub shoulders with a police chief and perhaps even a premier.
These days, stopping predatory gambling operations is even more difficult.
Lessons from nation that already has a gambling ad ban
Photo shows Side of man’s face just visible. He holds phone with ‘Bet’ on the screen. Blurred TV plays sport in background.As Australia prepares for the government to finalise its gambling advertising restrictions, we take a look at what’s happened in a nation where bans have already been implemented.
Just as the tech giants stole the advertising dollar by focusing in on every individual’s needs and wants, online gambling outfits can identify the most vulnerable via their algorithms and through data mining.
Gaming industry revenues are losses for consumers. With the rise of artificial intelligence, it will become easier for them to identify and exploit problem gamblers or those with a predilection for a punt.
The chance to run endless games, either fantasy or real, across sporting events on a range of potential outcomes and tailor-made punts represents a huge revenue opportunity at huge cost to the community.
Hence, the reason the major online gamblers are focused on sport and, with sport tied to broadcasters, the frantic advertising spend.
The main sporting bodies are entangled in this web. The reason broadcasters can pay such huge amounts for rights is, in addition to the huge audience, the betting operators are a large source of income to enable the widescale distribution of the product.
Despite the huge sums of money running through online gambling operators, some have overseen a slump in their reported profits, which has raised eyebrows.
Sportsbet, for example, which has an ownership lineage stretching from Australia to the Netherlands and through to Ireland, managed to win almost $2.2 billion from Australian punters in its most recent accounts.
But the profit from its local entity almost halved to $369 million over two years, reportedly due to higher taxes, tighter regulation and a marginal drop in revenue.
Like some tech giants, however, Sportsbet parent Flutter is domiciled in Ireland, which has a tax rate of just 12.5 per cent for trading income.
When it comes to betting, the house always wins.
Loading…- Australia
- Corporate Governance
- Gambling
- Government Policy
- NSW
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