SYDNEY: Australia will restrict betting advertisements in a bid to stem losses in one of the world’s biggest gambling nations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday.

Sports betting advertisements are pervasive across the nation’s airwaves, enticing people to risk their money on everything from surfing to greyhound racing.

Australians rack up some of the largest gambling losses in the world per adult, losing about $17 billion every year across a population of just 27 million people.

Albanese said betting agencies will be restricted to three advertisements per hour between 6am and 8.30pm.

Betting ads will be completely banned on live sports broadcast during those hours, and wagering firms will no longer be allowed to emblazon their brands across uniforms worn by professional teams.

All gambling ads will be banned on radio during the hours of school pick-up and drop-off, Albanese said.

“We are getting the balance right,” Albanese said during a speech in Canberra.

“Letting adults have a punt if they want to, but making sure that our children don’t see betting everywhere they look.

“We don’t want kids growing up thinking that footy (football) and gambling are inextricably linked.”

The move is unlikely to please gambling reform advocates who have called for a total end to betting advertisements.

Dozens of prominent Australians wrote to Albanese in 2024, urging him to abolish gambling ads within three years.

“Many Australians are alarmed about the proliferation of gambling advertising on our screens and the mounting losses through gambling,” said former prime minister John Howard, who was among the signatories.

“I believe gambling losses are responsible for enormous harm throughout the community.”

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2026