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New Wagering Advertising Rules — What Agencies & Advertisers Need to Know

By September 4, 2026No Comments

ClearAds Update

New Wagering Advertising Rules- What Agencies & Advertisers Need to Know

Amendments to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 introduce new restrictions on advertising for licensed interactive wagering services. If you place, plan or produce ad campaigns involving a betting or wagering brand, these changes affect what can be shown, when, and how on both broadcast TV and online platforms. .

DOES THIS AFFECT YOUR CAMPAIGN?

The rules apply to advertising, sponsorship or promotional content that is by, or for the benefit of, a licensed interactive wagering service (betting/wagering), and that has the purpose or likely effect of promoting it. If your ad content, or your creative for a wagering brand features betting content, these rules may apply. 

KEY RESTRICTIONS TO PLAN AROUND

  • Notable persons: wagering ads can no longer use current or former athletes, celebrities, social media influencers or other prominent people to endorse or promote wagering. 
  • Odds promotion: odds cannot be promoted in wagering ads on broadcast TV (dedicated racing/wagering programs and channels are excepted). This restriction does not apply online. 
  • Harmful or misleading content: ads cannot portray gambling as a family activity or a path to success and must carry the required responsible gambling message. 
  • Timing & frequency (broadcast): wagering ads are banned around live sport (buffers apply for daytime events) and capped at 3 per rolling 60-minute period outside live sport, 5am–8:30pm.
  • Online — the “triple lock”: wagering ads online require age-restricted users to be blocked, ads limited to registered account holders, and a clear opt-out, unless a simulcast or other exemption applies. 
  • Rapid draw online Keno & foreign-matched lotteries: advertising for these types of lotteries is not permitted. 
  • Inducements: the rules establish new restrictions on inducements and commissions, including banning the direct marketing of inducements to people coming off BetStop or when they have been identified as at risk of gambling-related harm.

WHAT’s EXCLUDED

  • State lotteries & games: advertising for lotteries and similar games (e.g. state-run lotteries) is not “wagering advertising content” and falls outside these rules if it does not involve a licensed interactive wagering service. 
  • Trade promotions & competitions: genuine, free-to-enter promotions run by non-gambling brands remain outside these rules. But the exemption has narrowed as subscription or membership-based prize draws, and promotions where entry requires a purchase and the promotion is a core (not incidental) part of the business, may now count as unlawful gambling rather than a trade promotion. 
  • Racing: advertising relating to horse, harness or greyhound racing, and dedicated racing programs, channels and services, is exempt. 

Get your next campaign checked by ClearAds

These rules are new and guidance from the regulator, ACMA, on several key requirements is still to be finalised. For questions on wagering related creative on any advertising platform and if you’re unsure of whether your campaign is caught by the new rules, contact us now on (02) 8968 7200 or hello@clearads.com.au. and submit a Precheck via our online application system, Oasis.