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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Amanda Meade Media correspondent

Will Australia’s free-to-air TV really be in ‘diabolical trouble’ without gambling ad revenue?

United States Australia Labor Peta Murphy Bill Shorten Charles Livingstone Nine Sarah HansonYoung Seven TEN
Mobile phone app and online gambling stock image.
If gambling ads are banned completely, networks Ten, Nine and Seven say they may have to rethink if they can continue to fund local news bulletins. Photograph: Nadir Kinani/The Guardian

If you watch free-to-air television in the evenings, it’s near impossible to avoid the relentless wave of gambling ads, the majority spruiking online gambling platforms. According to broadcasting authorities, gambling ad spots on free-to-air TV peak between 7pm and 10 pm, when 22% of the promotions will air.

Between May 2022 and April 2023, more than half a million (504,100) gambling ads aired on metro TV. Of those, 51% advertised online gambling companies; 20% were for lotteries; and 17% for lottos.

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