Three key Labor seats won at the last election will be targeted by a “swarm” campaign of anti-gambling ads during footy finals season.
The ads, organised by the Alliance for Gambling Reform, will run in the Parramatta, Bennelong and Gilmore electorates in an attempt to pressure the government into a full gambling ad ban.
Labor won Bennelong, in Sydney’s north, in the 2022 election with a slim 1% margin, held Parramatta in the city’s west by 4.6% and claimed the south coast seat of Gilmore by only 0.2%.
The alliance said the “thin” margins in these electorates meant Labor should formulate a tough gambling ad ban or “pay a price at the polling booths”.
The online, text and advertising campaign will include sending texts during NRL and AFL finals matches, some of the most-watched television programs of the year.
The text messages will highlight the number of gambling ads aired on TV last year and the number of children exposed to them.
One of the texts, seen by Guardian Australia, reads: “1+ million gambling ads aired on TV last year. Which means our kids are exposed to this messaging daily. Enough is enough. Let’s call time on gambling ads.”
Another reads: “3 in 4 kids think gambling is a normal part of sport. It’s time to show them it isn’t. Take action to end gambling ads today.”
The chief executive of the alliance, Martin Thomas, said the campaign intended to “send a message” to government and decision-makers in “key electorates” that gambling ads have “no role in society”.
“We believe that campaigning in these areas, to begin with, will gain the attention this issue needs from key stakeholders to make the right decision,” Thomas said.
“The thin margins, the demographic profile and in Gilmore’s instance the trend away from Labor in regional centres all point to these locations being the best locations for our campaign to send a signal to government that they must act now on this issue or pay a price at the polling booths.”
A poll by RedBridge Group showed 72% of Australians support a ban on gambling ads. The research showed 43% of men and 67 % of women supported the ban.
Roy Morgan research from earlier this year found a third of Australian men aged 25 to 34 are betting on sport, with one in four men aged 18 to 24 doing so regularly.
In June 2023 a total ban was proposed by a bipartisan committee inquiry chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy but the government is reportedly set to respond with a partial ban.
Under the proposal, gambling ads would be banned online, in children’s programming, during live sports broadcasts and an hour either side, but limited to two an hour in general TV programming.
The package would not eliminate on-field signs and jersey logos, despite the Murphy report concluding they should be banned.
A Grattan Institute report showed Australians lose an average of $1,600 a year to gambling, more than anywhere else in the world.
Guardian Australia sought comment from the NRL and AFL.
• In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-GAMBLER or text 800GAM
