TikTok U-turns on gambling ban with Australia advertising pilot
In a trial with Flutter Entertainment-owned Sportsbet, the social media platform is allowing the operator to advertise on its platform
Social media platform TikTok is allowing Sportsbet to advertise to its Australian users in a “strictly controlled advertising pilot”.
At the moment, TikTok’s Australian advertising policy states that “ads promoting fantasy sports, bingo or other gambling-related content” and “ads coming from a gambling brand or featuring gambling branding” as well as “ads sponsored by gambling brands” are banned.
TikTok is now undertaking this trial, which will allow ads to be seen by users over 21, with the frequency of the ads capped.
There will also be an option to opt-out of seeing the ads entirely.
The social media platform also stated that it will monitor the ads to ensure users have a safe experience and that responsible gambling messages will be included with all the ads.
The adverts mainly feature young men and women making satirical remarks about attending horseracing events, with two videos specifically mentioning the Flutter Entertainment-owned brand.
This trial has come under fire from experts, with Professor Samantha Thomas, a gambling researcher at Deakin University, airing her concerns on these videos.
TikTok is used by a young demographic, and there remains concerns over the ability for the platform to control what ads are shown to users.
Speaking to ABC, Thomas said: “We know this is a platform that is really appealing and engaging for young people. It’s really concerning for us to start to see these types of posts coming onto the platform.”
Professor Thomas went on to explain that these ads were coming across as regular humorous videos you would normally see on the platform, and until the ad mentioned the Sportsbet brand and showed the safer gambling message, users wouldn’t know it was advertising gambling.
According to the 2022 Digital Australia Report, TikTok has an advertising reach of over seven million Australians over the age of 18.
Nicholas Carah, digital cultures and societies director at the University of Queensland, also stated that it would be hard for TikTok to moderate whether the user seeing the ad was over the requisite age.
Carah commented: “The big issue around harmful industries advertising is that many of us sign up to a platform before we’re technically allowed to.
“So this whole question of platforms gating content for users under a certain age is a little bit messy.”
Both experts agreed that the Australian government needs to step in and regulate gambling advertising on social media.
Currently, the government regulates advertising on tv, radio and online streaming of sporting events but not social media.
There is currently some action being taken by the government in Australia to regulate gambling advertising, with the phrase “Gamble Responsibly” set to be scrapped in Australia by March 2023 following research by the Department of Social Services.
Federal Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said she was “very keen” to discuss further regulation into gambling once the results from a Parliamentary inquiry into online gambling are released.