On August 23, 2018, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has revised the previous ban on gambling promotional content during television and radio programmes.
The updated rules now have affected live sports streamed on traditional and online media platforms between 5:00 AM and 8:30 PM. During this "safe zone", any gambling promotional content is completely prohibited.
However, between 8:30 PM and 5:00 AM, there is a limited number of featured gambling ads, that depends on the sports event streamed. For instance, golf and cricket games can include gambling promotions only once during the night, and the Olympic games ー once in three hours. Rugby broadcasts can have four ads between matches.
There is also a certain flexibility for providers whose sports broadcasts are rescheduled to a different time within "the most watching hours" and are notified about that in less than an hour.
As ACMA noted, this measure is to seek alignment with the common norms for all broadcasting channels: TV, radio and online. The new rules will come into force on 28 September 2018. After 12 months, the regulator will assess the effectiveness of the amendments.
