The Changed Advertising Landscape
As you’ve no doubt seen across one or many media channels, recent regulatory measures introduced by the Victorian government now require gambling ads to include one of a string of messages, or “taglines”, to promote responsible gambling. These messages include:
- Chances are you’re about to lose.
- Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?
- What’s gambling really costing you?
- Imagine what you could be buying instead.
- You win some. You lose more.
As someone who for more than a decade has kept a keen eye on Australian gambling’s regulatory landscape, this enactment does feel like one of the more substantial ones; these are strong, sobering messages that unequivocally highlight the crappy realities for the gambler.
But Does the Industry Care?
What concerns me though is that the industry doesn’t actually seem bothered by having to include these messages in their adverts.
In fact, well before the relevant legislation was introduced, Sportsbet took it upon themselves to bring out some advertisements promoting responsible gambling. One such ad depicted a group of mates reminiscing at the ‘Mate Museum’, where it’s all fun and frivolity until Davo recounts that despite winning the quaddie on the day in question, he gave it all back and then some.
(For those not familiar with gambling parlance, a quaddie is a type of bet on horse racing which is seen as a bit of a punter’s holy grail, and “giving it all back” means losing all that you won.)
Sportsbet is Definitely Not a Social Enterprise…
Before you start thinking that Sportsbet was just acting out of genuine concern for those vulnerable to problem gambling, consider this: In 2022, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) fined Sportsbet $2.5m for breaches of anti-spam laws, including sending more than 150,000 marketing text messages and emails to over 37,000 customers who had previously tried to unsubscribe.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said that complaints from individuals included people who stated they were problem gamblers trying to manage their issues by unsubscribing from Sportsbet’s promotions.
She further said that “…ACMA contacted Sportsbet on several occasions leading up to the investigation…and it failed to take adequate action.
“Sportsbet is a large and sophisticated company which should have robust systems in place to comply with spam laws and protect the interests of its customers.”
This indiscretion makes it all but impossible to believe that there wasn’t an ulterior motive to Sportsbet’s Mate Museum ad. At the very least, it was an exercise in building goodwill, perhaps some credits in the bank for the next ethical or regulatory storm, with the company knowing full well that the actual impact of the advertisement in terms of harm reduction (and harm to its bottom line) would be minimal. A more cynical interpretation could be that internally Sportsbet considered it a bona fide advertisement, eliciting a response from the problem gambler like, “What an idiot…when I win the quaddie, I won’t be so stupid as to give it back.”
Whatever the precise rationale behind the Mate Museum ad, what we can conclude is that sports betting companies aren’t phased by having to incorporate responsible gambling messaging in their advertising. Meaning it must do little to their bottom line which, sadly in turn must mean that it does little good for the prospects of the problem gambler.
Circumnavigating Looks Easy…Are Sports-Betting Companies Actually Impacted?
The other problem with the new taglines regulation is the ease with which sports betting companies are getting around them, especially by using media and platforms other than TV.
A Sportsbet ad which recently aired on Melbourne’s Triple M radio station encouraged us in a booming voice to “Make it look easy with Sportsbet!” In what was by comparison a mere whimper, a monotone voice quickly followed with, “Chances are you’re about to lose.” This minimisation of the message is surely against the spirit of the regulations. It might also be against the letter of the law. But how do you police it? In 2021 there were an average of 948 gambling ads on TV alone.
Sports betting companies like Sportsbet have also piled marketing efforts into media platform TikTok, both creating their own content to advertise on the platform but also leveraging influencers, celebrities and other miscellaneous characters to create “organic” or staged content.
TikTok has become the most dominant platform in 2023, and as a medium its ability to compel the user is arguably unparalleled. Take for example that spades of people have used it to self-diagnose themselves with serious mental conditions (whether rightly or wrongly).
Part of why TikTok is so engaging is because the user can move onto the next video at any time. Realistically who is going to let the responsible gambling message play out at the end of the video?
Conclusion
These are just some of the obvious doubts and challenges with respect to the efficacy of the new responsible gambling messaging.
So while yes it does feel like a substantial new regulation, in reality it’s installing a new electric fence when the tiger has already escaped from the enclosure.
