Australian networks who spent up big on sporting rights are at risk of losing more than $300 million in advertising dollars from betting agencies.
The government’s online gambling inquiry, chaired by Labor MP Peta Murphy, is expected to push for major changes to gambling advertising laws, as the proliferation of live betting odds, and invasive sponsorship spots has led to widespread outrage.
Tomorrow, the CEOs of a number of betting agencies, along with the bosses of NRL and AFL, will plead their various cases at at the inquiry.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo will appear side-by-side, according to the AFR, while evidence will be given by Tabcorp CEO Adam Rytenskild, Sportsbet CEO Barni Evans, and Responsible Wagering Australia chairman Nick Minchin.
AFL boss McLachlan has already conceded there is too much sports betting advertising around the AFL.
“I think there is probably too much, yeah,” McLachlan told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
“I don’t have a problem that other people do around wagering, I just think the volume is too much. It’s in your face.
“We have a set of restrictions and they are being reviewed at the moment,” he continued.
“Probably they will be wound tighter, but we don’t believe in prohibition because all it does is drive it underground or offshore and that has its own set of problems.”
Any regulations around this advertising will hit the free-to-air channels and Foxtel, the hardest.
In 2021, $287 million was spent on gambling advertising, with $179 million of this spent on television.
Last year, that overall figure jumped to $300.5 million.
Seven and Foxtel currently pay $473 million a season between them for the broadcast rights to the AFL, a deal that will jump to $643 million a season from the 2025 season onwards.
The NRL has a $575 million-a-year deal with Nine for the free-to-air broadcast rights until the end of 2027.
These somewhat inflated deals rely on the fact the networks can draw big dollars from the gambling companies.
Bridget Fair, CEO of Free TV, which represents Seven, Ten and Nine, told the inquiry that further restrictions on betting ads “would have significant revenue implications for Australian TV networks and their ability to invest in sports; news and current affairs; and Australian content”.
