Australians Want Gambling Sponsorship Ban on Sports in New Survey

A recent study conducted by research specialists Resolve Strategic has illustrated that a majority of Australian voters would be in favour of prohibiting gambling firms from sponsoring sporting events, clubs, and personnel. True, 62% of those questioned said they would endorse a blanket ban on such activities.

Conversely, 25% of the survey field stated that they were comfortable with gaming and sports betting operators holding partnerships with sports stakeholders, whilst 14% were undecided. Candidates were also asked for their views on sponsorship relationships held between sporting representatives and other sectors, including questions referring to the role of coal, oil, gas, and alcohol companies in contemporary sport. The study took place on a focus group of 1,611 native voters, over a seven-day duration.

The reputation of Australia’s native gambling industry has taken quite the beating in recent months, with seemingly endless probes scrutinizing the alleged financial misconduct of several of the country’s biggest gaming operators. As a consequence of these investigations, casino giants Star Entertainment and Crown Resorts have been issued heavy penalties and had their trading licences suspended pending further review. It’s conceivable that these events have stoked ill-feeling amongst the electorate. Furthermore, there is a general, pervasive fear that problem gambling behaviours are on the rise, given the meteoric rise of the local market in recent years.

Tim Castello, Chief Advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, has leveraged a barrage of controversial criticism at betting firms, alleging they’re targeting extremely young audiences through their sponsorship efforts.

‘’The damage is that children’s minds are captured, and they are being gingered up to be gamblers, and many of them will become problem gamblers’’ said Castello in his attack, adding ‘’really, it is a grooming exercise by these sports betting companies’’