The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a formal warning to Network Ten, the network behind the 10 Play streaming platform, after gambling advertising appeared during live sport streams in breach of Australian rules. The matter was reported by trade publication iGaming Business on 27 August 2024.
What the regulator found
According to the report, gambling ads are banned from being shown during sports matches streamed between 5am and 8.30pm. The platform breached those rules by streaming a gambling ad during two sports streams on 14 October 2023.
The first was an international friendly between the Australian national football team and England. The second was an A-League Women's match between the Central Coast Mariners and the Newcastle Jets.
The source material does not say which advertiser or gambling product was promoted, how long the ads ran, or how many viewers may have seen them. Those details have not been disclosed in the material reviewed.
ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said of the breach:
"These rules are in place to minimise potential harm caused by gambling promotional content."
She added that "streaming services are expected to have systems in place to provide their ads in line with the law."
The company's explanation
Network Ten said an error in a manual coding process had caused the breach. This is the company's own account, and the source does not describe any independent verification of the technical cause. The network said it has since upgraded its processes and that its gambling ad scheduling is now largely automated.
The regulator issued a formal warning rather than a more serious outcome. Ms Lidgerwood said this was the first time Ten had breached the rules around gambling advertising in live sports, and that it had co-operated with ACMA throughout the investigation. The warning was issued to the network as a first-time offender. The source does not mention any financial penalty.
The wider advertising debate
The case arrives while Australia is, in the words of the report, embroiled in a national debate on gambling advertising. The government's updated gambling advertising rules are still awaited.
The report says a watered-down version of the total ban proposed in the 2023 Murphy Report is expected. Reports have suggested a cap of two gambling ads per hour until 10pm, along with a ban on gambling ads for an hour before and after live sports broadcasts. These are reported expectations, not confirmed policy.
Government minister Bill Shorten has suggested a blanket ban would only undermine free-to-air media in the country. Past and present politicians continue to push for the Murphy Report to be implemented in full. One think tank has suggested a 2% gross gaming revenue levy on gambling operators to make up any advertising revenue shortfall, according to the report.
What remains unclear
The warning concerns a single day and two streams, and the regulator describes the company as co-operative and a first-time offender. Beyond the network's statement that scheduling is now largely automated, the source gives no detail on how the new systems work or how ACMA will check compliance. The final shape of the government's advertising reforms is also unknown.