Media Giant Wants Compo If Gambling Ads Are Punted

Australian taxpayers ought to compensate the expenses of a betting advertising ban to media companies' bottom lines, 9's chair says.


Nine Entertainment operated betting advertisements in a heavily regulated environment and had actually remained in talks with federal government over the problem, Catherine West told investors at the group's annual meeting.


"If we are prohibited from having betting marketing, there's 2 things we would request for," she stated.


"Yes, some type of payment, some kind of some other reduction somewhere else, however most notably, that the betting ban is reasonable across all sectors."


A ban that left out tech companies would only divert advertising income offshore, she stated.


"Our biggest plea is is make it reasonable across the board, and don't downside responsible Australian media business and permit a gambling free-for-all in terms of the ad tech platforms," Ms West said.


Gambling advertising earnings was in the low single digits as a percentage of the group's earnings and had been slipping for the previous 3 years, the chair said.


Polling shows about three in 4 Australians support a total ban on gambling advertisements, but more 2 years after a landmark inquiry into gambling damage, the Albanese government is still mulling its reaction to its 31 recommendations.


A shelved proposal from Labor included a ban on gambling advertisements throughout live sports broadcasts and an hour on either side, and a limitation of 2 an hour outside of this.


Frustrated with ongoing unpredictability, the gaming lobby is apparently promoting age-based restrictions for betting ads on social media accounts and minimized blackout periods in an effort to prevent a blanket restriction.


Nine would adhere to whatever marketing guidelines were handed down, Ms West stated.


"Our company believe that gambling across the society is a collective responsibility for all stakeholders," she said.


"It's government, it's the wager inspector, it's sports organisations, media and also the broader community."


SBS has actually has actually taken matters into its own hands, using streaming service audiences the capability to opt-out of certain marketing classifications, consisting of betting.


Nine had actually not considered doing the same.


"That would not work for our main broadcast service, however we will continue to deal with the federal government and work towards carrying out any place they concern a landing on the betting regulations," Ms West stated.


Nine avoided a second shareholder strike versus its remuneration report on Friday, after its owners sent out a message in 2024 over bullying and harassment claims.


Its executive pay strategy won the true blessing of more than four in five investors, who also voted overwhelmingly to re-elect Peter Tonagh as a director.


Mr Tonagh is set replace Ms West as chair, who will step down after 18 months in the function.


Multiple investors admired 9's monetary performance relative to its conventional media peers, by growth in its streaming platform Stan and the $3 billion sale of realty platform Domain to US business CoStar Group.