Australian Racing Industry Concerned over Gambling Ad Ban
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The Australian government is considering whether to legislate a total ban on gambling adverts or introduce a cap instead. Racing Victoria (RV), which represents stakeholders in the industry in the Australian state, is one of the organizations that has stated the racing industry produces revenue of more than $4 billion annually for the state economy.
It is estimated that of the billions created in revenue by the racing industry in Australia each year 90% of this revenue is generated from wagers by gamblers. Therefore the impact a ban on television gambling adverts would have on the racing economy would be catastrophic.
Racing Stakeholders Propose Advertising Exemption
Racing Stakeholders say the industry is responsible for large-scale employment with 35,000 people employed in racing in Victoria, which includes jockeys, trainers, stable staff, and vets.
Organizations in the industry including Racing Victoria make a strong case that the federal government should exempt the racing industry from any proposed gambling advertisement bans outlined in the forthcoming Gambling Review.
RV believes the government should treat their industry as a special case because of the size of the racing economy and the number of direct and associated jobs that the industry provides to local communities.
We do appreciate community concerns about the saturation of gambling advertising in general programming and sports broadcasts, particularly where it may be seen by minors or people not expecting or wanting to be exposed to gambling, Racing is a different product, targeted at informed adults, who have a clear expectation of the intersection between racing and wagering. We need an appropriate framework that allows the industry to engage with adult fans today and into the future.
This call for a racing exemption comes following racing reform organizations expressing concerns that the Australian Government intends to cap gambling adverts on television rather than introduce a blanket ban.
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