Australian sports betting ad spend reaches $50m
Sports betting firms continue high advertising spending despite attempts to crackdown on the promotion of gambling
Australian sports betting sites’ spend on TV, radio and print advertising has climbed to AU$50m over the past year despite recent governmental crackdowns on gambling advertising.
Tom Waterhouse was by far the biggest spending brand for the 12 month period ending August 2013 with a combined outlay of $9.6m, according to a report by data company Nielsen and first published by the Herald Sun newspaper in Australia.
The Australian firm, which was acquired by UK operator William Hill in August for an initial fee of $34m, outspent its nearest advertising competitor Tatts Bet by $6m, followed by Swedish-listed operator Unibet and Bet365 which both spent close to $3.1m.
The high advertising spend has prompted proposals by politicians and regulators attempting to clampdown on the promotion of online gambling including a ban on live odds advertising during sporting events in South Australia.
In May the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard had previously announced the government’s intentions to introduce a ban on gambling advertising during live sports broadcasts.
September and October 2012 saw the most money spent on TV sports betting ads, according to the report, with operators seeking to benefit from a busy sporting season including the finals of the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League.
Combined advertising spend by the Australian sports betting sites competed with some of the country’s biggest advertisers such as Ford and the National Australia Bank which spent $39m and $34m respectively.