Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied reports that his government is moving ahead with plans to impose bans on online and TV gambling advertising.

Sky News Australia reports that the Labor government will impose an almost immediate ban on online gambling ads across social media sites like Facebook and X.

According to Sky News, plans also remain in place for a partial ban on TV gambling advertising, however, this will not be implemented until 2026 to allow broadcasters and gambling operators time to honour their current contractual agreements.

In a press conference held yesterday (September 3), Albanese told reporters that the government “has not come to a conclusion, we’re in discussions”.

He added: “I’ve seen reports that allege that they know what the position is. Well, they don’t. What we’ve been doing is having a consultation to make sure that we get the reforms right.

“We know that problem gambling is an issue, and we want to deal with those issues in a constructive way. We’re continuing to engage with the media organisation, with sporting organisations, as well as the anti-gambling lobby. We’re engaging constructively. That’s what good governments do. They reach out and engage constructively.”

The debate surrounding gambling advertising in Australia has been intensifying in recent months.

The Murphy Report, produced by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, called for a blanket ban on gambling advertisements on Australian TV, however, it is expected that the Labor Government will implement a watered-down version of the policy.

The new proposals will endorse a cap on the number of gambling adverts on TV as well as a further ban surrounding live sporting events. 

Concerns have been raised that a blanket ban on ads would severely impact the country’s free-to-air media industry. 

According to studies by the Australian National University (ANU), it is estimated that free-to-air networks could lose approximately $240m if the blanket ban was implemented, with Channel Seven losing AU$106m, approximately 7% of its annual turnover, and Channel Nine AU$115m, 9% of its revenue.

On the danger of an outright ban on the free-to-air market, Bridget Fair, CEO of Free TV Australia, said: “Last year the advertising market declined 8% year-on-year across all categories.

“It’s not the same as when we had a conversation around tobacco advertising where the overall market was increasing and you can replace one lost revenue stream with another stream from other advertisers.”

Andrew Hughes, Marketing Lecturer at ANU, argued that a ban would push media companies to innovate and pointed to the success of women’s sports in Australia as a growing market for free-to-air operators to target for replacing lost revenue.