9 Mar

Radio Promotions of Australia Betting Odds to be Restricted

Australia Betting OddsThe new Australian government is cracking down on its gambling industry. In an effort to curb addiction, new regulations will be enforced next week, restricting radio promotions of Australia betting odds during live broadcasts of sporting events.

This doesn’t mean we Aussies won’t be bombarded with advertisements from live and online betting groups, hoping to secure our patronage. The Australia betting odds promos just won’t be permitted to air over the radio while there’s a live sporting event being aired.

Radio Restrictions Start March 15

The new legislation, which aims to enforce a multitude of radio programming guidelines, will go into effect on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. The regulations are part of amendments made to the Commercial Radio Industry Code of Practice, registered by the Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

There are many changes on the menu. On top of banning Australia betting odds promotions during live sports broadcasts, radio stations will have to meet a number of other enhanced standards. For example, a person’s name and quoted statement can no longer be broadcast without their prior consent. They must also meet the nation’s quota for playing music, rather than rambling on and/or playing excessive commercials.

In addition, the material broadcast over the airways will be highly scrutinized. Programs may not include any material that might be viewed as offensive, or cause distress to listeners. Any program that involves participants must not broadcast content in which the participant(s) are treated in a highly demeaning or exploitative manner.

View the complete list of code changes here, found under ‘Key Community Safeguards Provided in the Code‘.

Why Restrict Australia Betting Odds Promos?

Australia’s government has made it clear that gambling reform is on the way. The high rate of problem gambling in the nation – the highest in the world – is a major concern for Parliament. They believe that live (in-play) betting targets the community’s most vulnerable punters.

In-play betting is already restricted to an extent. Recent regulatory changes resulted in an explicit prohibition of online in-play betting. Now, punters who wish to place wagers on sporting events that are already underway may only do so at a live, retail betting location.

Despite these new laws, there are still many Australians who access internationally regulated sports betting websites on their desktop or mobile device. The nation has no current jurisdiction to prevent these sites from presenting Aussies with online in-play betting.

Thus, by eliminating advertisements for Australia betting odds during radio broadcasts of live sports events, Parliament is hoping less Aussies will be coerced into in-play betting with offshore bookmakers.

More Restrictions On The Way?

If the government ever manages to smooth out all the details, there’s another piece of legislation in the works that could put a stop to gambling with international operators that aren’t licenced here in Australia. The government is close to passing a law that would require any operator that wants to accept Aussies to apply for a licence (very similar to the UK’s licencing procedures).

Should this happen, licenced bookmakers would be forced to abide by the nation’s interactive gambling laws, cutting Aussie’s off from online in-play betting altogether. Unlicenced operators may continue to access the market, but they would do so at the risk of being heavily penalized by Australia.