The Australia Institute proposes a 2% tax on gambling operators' revenue to compensate for the potential loss of AUD 240 million that advertising companies would face under a complete advertising ban.
Earlier this month, the Australian government pushed forward its plan to set a cap on gambling advertisements in general television programming under significant pressure to enforce a total ban.
In light of a new 2% gambling revenue tax proposal, this proposal will assist media companies in ceasing their gambling advertising activities, hence the intense advertising debate in Australia has not ceased.
The ongoing issue of problem gambling in the country, where studies conducted by Roy Morgan and released by the Alliance for Gambling Reform found that problem gamblers account for one-fifth of operator clientele and are also responsible for about one-third of all funds wagered on sports.
Stephen Long, a senior researcher at the Australia Institute, stated that since gambling advertisements have been proven to harm the community, especially vulnerable groups including children, the new tax could prove to be a "rare win-win situation."
According to the Canberra-based think tank Australia Institute, the institute is conducting "high-impact research for a better Australia," and the proposed tax will serve as compensation for losses incurred due to the complete ban.
The institute continued to explain that "levying a small tax on the billions of dollars extracted by gambling companies from Australians" could effectively compensate for the AUD 240 million revenue loss that media might face due to the ban, "leaving enough to increase funding for the ABC."
This progressive think tank's view is endorsed and supported by the Greens, who also expressed their stance for a total ban on gambling ads, rather than the Labor Party's proposal to cap them in general television programming.
The institute believes that a 1.4% tax would be sufficient to replace the AUD 240 million spent on free-to-air TV, online advertisements, and metropolitan radio ads.
The conclusion was released after assessing that Australian gambling companies reached AUD 17.2 billion in revenue for the 2022-23 period.
Long explained that the 2% tax, which he calls "a small part of betting losses," would compensate for "any revenue loss" caused by the total ban to the media.
He further described the implementation of the tax as a "rare win-win situation," as it not only reduces the harm caused by advertisements but also ensures "a source of income for public broadcasting."
Richard Denniss, the executive director of the institute, explained that while they do not believe the ban will lead to "a reduction in gambling activities," if there is a decline in the number of gamblers, "that would clearly be good news."
Denniss also mentioned that the per capita loss of Australian gamblers is the highest in the world, losing AUD 25 billion annually, and explained that the "shocking statistics" show how crucial "decisive policy measures" are at this time.
The Greens utilized the voice of their communications spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, to express their view that "gambling companies should pay for the lives they are ruining."
The spokesperson added that research shows it's possible to "ban gambling ads while simultaneously funding public interest news."
The Labor Party hopes to see a ban on online gambling ads, as well as in sports broadcasts and children's programs, each for one hour, but based on experience, the general TV program limit is two hours per hour.
The policy is awaiting approval from the cabinet or core group.
