Ever since the pandemic, the percentage of online casino gamblers has risen. The main reason is because of the Covid-19 measures taken to prevent people from going outside, such as closing establishments. One of the industries affected is the gambling industry, which has experienced highs and lows during 2020. The physical premises or land-based casinos are affected the most, but online gambling websites like Casimboo are gaining more profits because it’s easily accessible and more convenient. It’s an excellent alternative for those who don’t want to go to a land-based casino to avoid the virus.
In Australia, many offshore online gambling websites, such as Sportsbet, has experienced an increase in the market. From 43% to 46% in the last year, after they gained 675,000 new members in a span of 12 months. In total, the global behemoth Flutter Entertainment gained an overall value of over $30 billion during the course of the Covid-19 outbreak. They earned a turnover boost of 46% and a 59% increase in Australian revenue during the same period. Because of this, Australia is calling to ban sports betting ads claiming that it hasn’t helped Australians because it entices them to spend more money than save them. Let’s learn more here.
Australia Wants to Ban Sports Betting Ads
A recent study done by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, a survey of 2000 Australian punters, shows that one out of three participants, mostly young men, signed up for new betting accounts during the Coronavirus pandemic. The number of people who gambled more than four times per week increased from 23% to 32%. Reverend Tim Costello, the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, launched a campaign to end sports betting advertising. He claims that the recent federal government reforms have not helped protect Australians.
According to Reverend Tim Costello, these sports betting ads that promote all sorts of bonus bets triggered some people to gamble again or gamble even more than they used to. It forces them to risk away their money saved during the lockdown or, worse, those with superannuation withdrawals. It’s like seeing a tobacco advertisement during a football game because kids watch and support these sports games. Therefore they will want to support their sponsors too. Sportsbetting was the fastest form of gambling in Australia, doubling in the last five years to 2017-2018. Its losses are now exceeding $1 billion per year. Mr Costello said an effective way to stop this is to stop sports betting ads as early as now.
Will the Sports Betting Advertisements Stop?
The pandemic triggered an online gambling crisis in many countries, particularly Australia. But the industry argued that Australian-licensed wagering operators are contributing more than $1 billion in taxes. That is through state point-of-consumption taxes. Before GST, company tax and payroll taxes were imposed. The figure is expected to have increased over the past year as punters shifted to online platforms because of the closing of traditional retail bookies. Brent Jackson, the chief executive of corporate bookmaker lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia, said that Reverend Tim Costello is entitled to his moral disapproval of sports betting but says it isn’t a serious policy position.
Mr Jackson says it’s another attempt to mislead and demonise the responsible Australian punters. Even though sports gambling is growing in popularity, the problem gambling rates continue to fall and that the complaints about wagering ads are at an all-time low, which comprises only 0.31%. He also said that it clearly shows that the Australian wagering companies are doing the right thing and that Reverend Tim Costello is pointing to a problem that doesn’t exist. Furthermore, Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the government’s 2018 reform.
