The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has warned and fined broadcaster Seven for breaching online gambling advertising rules.
An ACMA investigation found that The Seven Network Operations Ltd (Seven) showed a gambling advertisement on December 12th at 10.38 am on a 7plus live stream of an NFL game. According to local broadcasting rules, gambling ads cannot be shown during live streams of sporting events between the hours of 5 am and 8.30 pm.
The ad followed a similar breach in October 2022 which the broadcaster had been warned in relation to.
As a result of the repeated breach, the ACMA issued the maximum financial penalty possible for this type of breach – AU$13,320 ($8,663/€8,074).
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said of the breach:
“The ACMA expects broadcasters to have robust systems and processes and associated assurance mechanisms in place to support compliance with these laws. Seven has told us that the measures it has in place are adequate to ensure future compliance and it does not need to do more. Following repeated breaches by Seven, we will continue to closely monitor their compliance with the rules to make sure that is the case.”
The ACMA recently revealed that ads for online gambling made up over 64% of all advertising spend in Australia. The data showed that there are over 1 million gambling ads on free-to-air TV each year.
According to the latest Global Gambling Statistics, Australians have the highest gambling losses per person in the world. Each year the average gambler loses approximately AU$1870 ($1200/€1118).
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.