An Australian research institute has proposed a 2% tax on gambling operators' revenue to compensate for the $240 million loss that advertising companies would suffer under a complete ban on advertising.
Despite significant pressure to completely ban gambling advertising, the Australian government is still pushing forward with plans to restrict gambling ads in general television programming.
Although the new proposal imposes a 2% gambling tax to help media companies stop gambling advertising activities, the fierce debate over advertising in Australia continues.
"A rare win-win situation"
By the end of June, experts discussed the ongoing gambling issues in the country in a study conducted by Roy Morgan and released by the Alliance for Gambling Reform, which found that problem gamblers account for one-fifth of the operators' user base and about one-third of the total funds in sports betting.
Stephen Long, a senior researcher at the Australian Institute, stated that since gambling ads have been proven to harm the community, especially vulnerable groups such as children, the new tax could prove to be "a rare win-win situation."
The Canberra-based, high-impact research institute committed to "building a better Australia" stated that the proposed tax would be used to compensate for the losses caused by the complete ban.
The institute continued to explain that "taxing the billions of dollars extracted from Australians by gambling companies" could effectively make up for the $240 million revenue loss that media might face due to the ban, "and there would still be enough money left to increase funding for the ABC."
The progressive think tank's view is recognized and supported by the Greens, who also express the view of a complete ban on gambling advertising, rather than the restrictions on gambling ads in general television programming proposed by the Labor Party.
The institute believes that a 1.4% tax would be sufficient to cover the $240 million spent on free TV, online advertising, and urban broadcast advertising.
This conclusion was reached after assessing the $17.2 billion revenue of Australian gambling companies for the fiscal year 2022-23.
Long explained that the 2% tax, which he calls "a small part of the gambling losses," would compensate for "any revenue loss" caused by the complete ban.
He further described the implementation of the tax as "a rare win-win situation," as it not only reduces the harm caused by advertising but also ensures "a source of income for public broadcasting."
Richard Dennis, 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 is clearly good news."
"Companies should pay for the lives they have ruined"
Dennis also mentioned that the per capita loss of Australian gamblers is the highest in the world, amounting to $25 billion annually, a "shocking statistic" that underscores how critical the current "decisive policy measures" are.
Green Party spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young expressed their stance: "Gambling companies should pay for the lives they have ruined."
The spokesperson added that research shows that "banning gambling advertising while simultaneously funding public interest news" is feasible.
The Labor Party hopes to ban online gambling ads, live sports broadcasts, and children's program ads, with a one-hour ban before and after, but according to the rule of thumb, general TV program ads should not exceed two per hour.
This policy is awaiting approval from the cabinet or party group.
