George Savvides, the former SBS chair, has challenged commercial broadcasters. He urged them to let viewers restrict gambling ads. He cited the need to protect people from an addictive and harmful product, especially in the absence of tougher regulation.
Savvides retired from SBS in July. It has also called on the Albanese government to adopt the wide-variety recommendations for a parliamentary inquiry into online wagering. This includes a total restriction on gambling ads after a transition period.
SBS became the first television broadcast in the world to trial an opt-out of gambling feature on its digital streaming service in the previous year. The broadcaster announced the change would be made permanent from 2026 in early September.
Savvides said that in this mind, there is absolutely no reason commercial broadcasters should not follow suit. He cannot imagine the level of frustration viewers of other Australian TV networks face. They have to sit through a much larger number of gambling ads per hour during live sports coverage.
Savvides said the trial let On Demand account holders to send an online form to opt-out of gambling, alcohol or fast food ads. It led to a 45% reduction in complaints. As they did not want to annoy people unwilling to hear their message, he argued advertisers supported the change.
The Albanese government has taken over two years to formally respond to the inquiry’s recommendations. It has faced sustained lobbying from sporting codes and commercial broadcasters opposing the proposed restrictions.
The peak body for Australia’s free-to-air commercial broadcasters told the inquiry that critics had greatly exaggerated the extent of gambling ads on TV. They also warned that more restrictions would make free access to sports increasingly difficult.
However, together with public health experts, Savvides believes the currency of gambling ads has caused community harm. A Equity Economics March report found Australians now lose more to gambling yearly than $28.3 billion the government spends on aged care.
