Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the government will "ban gambling advertising" before 8:30pm "during live sporting events, and for five minutes before and after the start of play," according to Matthew Doran of ABC. The Cabinet of Australia "faced a backlash" from the execs of some of the nation's biggest sporting codes, who argued "restricting gambling advertising would slash the value" of the TV rights their codes attract. Speaking in the U.S. before his flight back to Australia on Saturday, Turnbull said that the plan "would go ahead." Turnbull said, "Parents around Australia will be delighted when they know that during football matches, and cricket matches, live sporting events before 8:30pm, there will be no more gambling ads." He said that the ban "would not apply to racing." Execs from the Australian Football League and National Rugby League had been lobbying Communications Minister Mitch Fifield to "scrap the plans." Cricket Australia was "pushing against the change" (ABC, 5/6). BLOOMBERG's Emily Cadman reported the decision will be "closely scrutinized" by the nation's sports teams and leagues, which have "extensive sponsorship deals with the betting industry." The NRL, for example, has a A$60M ($44.5M) deal with Sportsbet. Australia is the "biggest gambling nation in the world on a per capita basis," spending $761 per head in '15. The new restrictions are "part of a wider broadcasting reform package" to be announced in the budget this week (BLOOMBERG, 5/5). In Sydney, Max Mason reported anti-gambling campaigner and Senate "crossbencher" Nick Xenophon said that the measure was a "good first step" but did not "go far enough." Xenophon: "It's not the end of the story in terms of gambling reform. We need to ban all gambling ads during sports broadcasts, but at least we've made some progress." He added that sports preview shows "should also be monitored for their promotion of gambling odds" (SMH, 5/6).
