Australia’s Gambling Advertising Reforms Set to Reshape State of Origin Sponsorships from 2027
State of Origin 2026 kicks off this morning for UK viewers. It could mark the final series before sweeping changes to gambling advertising and sponsorships take effect across Australia.
The New South Wales Blues take on the Queensland Maroons in the 45th renewal of the annual best-of-three series. Game one begins at Accor Stadium in Sydney at 8:05pm local time.
While fans debate matchups such as Tedesco vs Ponga, Cleary vs Walker, and Robson vs Grant, a parallel debate has intensified. Gambling reform advocates continue to clash with the gambling industry over the volume and visibility of betting promotions.
PM Anthony Albanese stated last month that the Labor government will pursue “strong and decisive actions” to address the proliferation of gambling advertising. The reforms, scheduled for 1 January 2027, represent a structural shift in how operators can reach audiences during live sport.
The Proposed Widespread 2027 Changes
The Australian government has outlined five core measures. These will impose new limits on broadcast television, live sport, radio, digital platforms, and sporting environments.
Broadcast TV will allow a maximum of three gambling ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm. A full ban on gambling ads will apply during live sports broadcasts within those hours.
Radio advertising faces a watershed ban during school commute times of 8-9am and 3-4pm. Online ads will be restricted to logged-in, age-verified users aged 18 and over, with mandatory opt-out options required.
Sporting environment bans will remove gambling ads from stadiums as well as from players’ and officials’ uniforms. These changes will directly affect major partners such as Sportsbet, currently listed as a headline sponsor for this year’s State of Origin series and a major National Rugby League (NRL) partner.
From a commercial standpoint, operators and broadcasters face clear revenue implications. Clubs and media rights holders will need to reassess sponsorship portfolios that have long relied on gambling brands for visibility.
Historical Context and the Murphy Report
Gambling advertising has remained a persistent point of contention in Australia. Three years ago, the late Peta Murphy MP submitted a parliamentary inquiry into gambling harms titled “You win some, you lose more.”
The report, now known as the Murphy report, has only recently received a formal government response. Several of its recommendations have already been advanced, including a nationwide ban on the use of credit cards, digital wallets linked to credit products, and cryptocurrencies for wagering that came into force in June 2024.
Mandatory warning taglines were introduced in 2023. The national self-exclusion register BetStop launched the same year. Additional measures classified loot boxes and other gambling-like content in video games.
Critics have questioned the government’s timeline in implementing broader reforms. Senator David Pocock has been vocal in pushing for faster action on advertising saturation.
He said back in 2025: “Almost 80% of Australians have had an absolute gutful of turning on the TV to watch sport with their kids and seeing a torrent of ads with people dressed up as commentators and experts giving this overview of the odds.”
“That is not what the sport is for. Then you’re going online and seeing it in social media feeds, you’re hearing it in podcasts.”
“Gambling ads have totally saturated Australia. In a country that is the per capita biggest loser in the world, we should obviously be obsessing over actually taking action and treating this like the public health issue that it is.”
Advertising Expenditure and Market Saturation
The scale of exposure is evident in the data. According to Nielsen Ad Intel, the gambling and gaming industry in Australia spent an estimated AU$187.75m on advertising in 2024.
That figure marked a decrease from $239m the previous year. Importantly, these totals did not capture in-stadium advertising or sponsorship deals.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) reported that, in the year ending 30 April 2023, free-to-air television accounted for 68% of total gambling advertising spend. During the same period, more than one million gambling advertisements aired across free-to-air television and metropolitan radio.
Half of all advertising spots promoted online gambling services. Such concentration underscores why reform advocates view live sporting events as particularly influential moments for potential bettors.
Sportsbet and other operators have built substantial brand equity through these channels. The impending restrictions will require fresh approaches to customer acquisition that comply with the new digital verification and opt-out rules.
Risks, Limitations, and Implementation Challenges
Not every element of the reforms has met universal approval. Senator David Pocock has described proposals around sponsorship of sports podcasts as “bonkers” and “totally unworkable.”
This criticism highlights a practical risk. While broadcast and stadium bans are relatively straightforward to enforce, digital and podcast environments present enforcement complexities that could limit overall effectiveness.
Operators may shift budgets toward age-verified digital platforms or international markets with fewer restrictions. Clubs and leagues could face short-term revenue gaps until alternative sponsorship models mature.
The reforms also arrive against a backdrop of existing harm-minimisation tools. The credit card ban, BetStop register, and warning labels already form part of the regulatory architecture. Whether the 2027 measures deliver incremental harm reduction beyond these steps remains an open question for industry observers.
From decades observing regulatory evolution in gaming markets, I see these changes as another inflection point. They force a recalibration rather than an outright prohibition, yet the operational adjustments will be material for client-partners tied to Australian sport.
The Bottom Line
State of Origin regularly draws over three million viewers across Australia. From 2027 onward, those audiences could encounter significantly fewer gambling advertisements during moments of heightened engagement.
The reforms signal a deliberate policy pivot toward treating advertising saturation as a public health priority. Operators, leagues, and broadcasters must now innovate within tighter boundaries while preserving the commercial vitality of the sport.
What unfolds after 2026 will test whether these measures achieve their stated goals without simply displacing activity into less regulated channels. The coming years will reveal how effectively the balance between responsible oversight and industry sustainability can be struck in one of the world’s most active per-capita gambling markets.
