Over 70% of Australians believe that gambling advertisements should be banned from television, according to a study conducted by think tank The Australia Institute.
The survey was conducted between 13 and 16 August of this year, with a total of 1,003 people participating.
These participants were asked to react to five statements regarding bans on advertising for gambling, tobacco, junk food, alcohol, and fossil fuels.
A majority of surveyed participants agreed with a ban on gambling advertising, with some interesting distinctions between age, gender, and location.
Of those over the age of 60, 50% chose to ‘strongly agree’ with a total ban on gambling advertising.
However, participants aged between 50 and 59 were most likely to ‘strongly disagree’ with a ban, with 6% of them saying so.
Additionally, 2% of 40 to 49-year-olds and those over 60 also opted to strongly disagree with a ban.
Of women in the group, 40% chose to strongly agree with a ban, compared to 35% of men.
Of those surveyed from Western Australia, 41% were in support of a ban, with New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria at 35%, 31% and 27% respectively.
Australia Institute Director Dr Richard Denniss noted that these results “show Australians have had enough of the gambling industry saturating our airwaves with messages enticing us to bet. The majority view was clear on both junk food and gambling, across all voting intentions – give these ads the punt.”
In 2021, the gambling industry was reported to have spent approximately $287.2m on advertising in Australia.
