Popular Australian sporting codes "may no longer be broadcast on free-to-air television if the networks lose gambling advertising revenue," a major media company warned, according to Lucy Battersby of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Australian Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is reportedly "considering a ban on gambling ads screening from the start to finish of sporting events." TV networks are "increasingly reliant on revenue from the gambling industry," which spent nearly A$150M on wagering and lottery advertisements in '16, an increase of 19% on '15. Networks have been "screaming for cuts" to their license fees in the May federal budget "to make up for declining ad revenue." Restricting advertising flow from sports events "could reduce networks' ability to recoup the millions they spend securing exclusive sports broadcast rights." A Channel Seven spokesperson said, "The reported gambling advertising restrictions would have a significant impact on the future value of sporting rights for free-to-air broadcasters and, as a result, we are likely to see more of them [sports] migrating to unregulated platforms run by foreign multinationals." A spokesperson for Channel Nine, which has rights for the National Rugby League, said that it would work with the government to reform gambling advertising "across all platforms." She added, "Measures targeting TV alone do not reflect the reality of how audiences are exposed to gambling advertising, and the sensible approach would be to include all platforms" (SMH, 4/21). In Melbourne, Rob Harris reported sporting groups, including Cricket Australia, are "warning the changes would risk the integrity agreements struck with betting agencies, where sporting officials can monitor any gambling by players, coaches and staff." Responsible Wagering Australia -- a lobby group for online bookies headed by former Labor senator Stephen Conroy -- already signaled the industry is "willing to drastically wind back its advertising" (HERALD SUN, 4/20).
LEAGUE RESISTANCE: ABC's Chris Uhlmann reported the "biggest forces standing against the planned changes are Australia's largest sporting codes." On April 12, Australian Football League CEO Gillon McLachlan and NRL COO Nick Weeks met with Fifield in Melbourne. Both argued that "curtailing gambling advertising will slash the value of the television rights their codes attract." The NRL has a commercial deal with Sportsbet worth A$60M ($45.2M), and half of the league's 16 teams have a corporate bookmaker as a major sponsor. The AFL has a A$10M ($7.5M)-per-year deal with CrownBet (ABC, 4/19).
