Proposed Legislation Targets Digital Ads Promoting Online Casinos and Sports Betting

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: April 15, 2023

Crown Resorts must implement new regulations for gamblers at its Crown Melbourne casino after receiving a AU$120 million fine for violating gambling laws in Victoria. If Crown complies with the new regulations, which are part of the operator’s new government-mandated Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct, traffic may decrease.

According to a government announcement, a new rule will limit gamblers to 36 hours per week. In addition, anyone who gambles at Crown for 12 hours in a 24-hour period must refrain from gambling for 24 hours. That does not, however, preclude them from gambling elsewhere in the vicinity.

In addition, patrons will be required to take 15-minute pauses every three hours, which Crown will enforce. A sanction of up to AU$100 million may be imposed for violations of any of the regulations. Victoria’s gambling regulator recently fined Crown’s Melbourne casino, as well as its casinos in other states. The casino was found culpable of failing to adhere to responsible gambling measures, facilitating large-scale money laundering, and other offences.

Melissa Horne, Minister of Casino, Gambling, and Liquor Regulation, therefore mandated the new measures. The findings of the 2021 royal commission included her approved recommendations. According to the government, the guidelines also include additional directives for officials regarding the appropriate action to take when players exhibit symptoms of gambling injury. This includes constantly monitoring all activity, suggesting breaks to gamblers, and discussing responsible wagering services with them.

Crown Has Six Months to Implement the Changes

Crown has six months to implement the necessary adjustments and educate its employees on responsible gambling. After nearly losing its casino license in Victoria last year due to money laundering claims, Crown has announced that these reforms are part of a larger initiative.

Victoria’s plan for enforcing the rules and ensuring compliance still requires additional input. There have been anti-money laundering regulations in effect for decades. However, Crown and Star Entertainment were able to repeatedly violate them across Australia for over a decade.

After addressing the land-based gaming market in Australia, regulators are likely to turn their attention to the online sector. During this period, parliamentarians will discuss regulations and a restriction on gambling advertising, according to the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

It is one thing to promote a land-based casino on social media, but it is something entirely different to promote an online casino. In the first scenario, the speculator must still travel outside of his or her comfort zone. In the latter, it is as easy as seeing an advertisement, selecting a link, and starting to gamble.

Flutter’s Sportsbet Granted Special Permission for TikTok Test, Sparking Debate

According to reports, Flutter spent AU$300,000 on just two TikTok advertisements for its Sportsbet platform in Australia last month. Each advertisement generates approximately AU$0.20 per view.

Typically, gambling advertisements are prohibited on TikTok, but Sportsbet has been granted special permission to conduct a test. As no data have been presented, it remains unclear how effective the social media platform has been for Flutter.

The demonstration conducted by Sportsbet is part of an industry worth more than AU$310 million. According to the Ad Intel Panel, a product offered by audience statistics expert Nielsen, this is how much Australian gaming companies spent on advertising in 2017. The majority of those funds were allocated to conventional advertising. Digital advertising through social media platforms came in second place and gained ground.

There are watersheds in place to prohibit advertisements during certain times on television and radio, but this is not the case for digital advertising. This will be the focus of this week’s legislative debate, along with the implementation of new restrictions across the complete digital gambling domain.