Australian taxpayers should compensate the costs of a gambling advertising ban to media companies’ bottom lines, Nine’s chair says.
Nine Entertainment operated gambling ads in a heavily regulated environment and had been in talks with government over the issue, Catherine West told shareholders at the group’s annual meeting.
“If we are banned from having gambling advertising, there’s two things we would ask for,” she said.
“Yes, some type of compensation, some type of some other reduction somewhere else, but most importantly, that the gambling ban is fair across all sectors.”
A ban that excluded tech companies would only divert advertising revenue offshore, she said.
“Our biggest plea is is make it fair across the board, and don’t disadvantage responsible Australian media companies and allow a gambling free-for-all in terms of the ad tech platforms,” Ms West said.
Gambling advertising income was in the low single digits as a percentage of the group’s revenues and had been slipping for the past three years, the chair said.
Polling shows about three in four Australians support a total ban on gambling ads, but more two years after a landmark inquiry into gambling harm, the Albanese government is still mulling its response to its 31 recommendations.
A shelved proposal from Labor included a ban on gambling ads during live sports broadcasts and an hour on either side, and a limit of two an hour outside of this.
Frustrated with ongoing uncertainty, the gambling lobby is reportedly pushing for age-based restrictions for gambling ads on social media accounts and reduced blackout periods in an effort to avoid a blanket ban.
Nine would comply with whatever advertising rules were handed down, Ms West said.
“We believe that gambling across the society is a collective responsibility for all stakeholders,” she said.
“It’s government, it’s the wager inspector, it’s sports organisations, media and also the broader community.”
SBS has has taken matters into its own hands, offering streaming service viewers the ability to opt-out of certain advertising categories, including gambling.
Nine had not considered following suit.
“That wouldn’t work for our main broadcast service, but we will continue to work with the government and work towards implementing wherever they come to a landing on the gambling regulations,” Ms West said.
Nine avoided a second shareholder strike against its remuneration report on Friday, after its owners sent a message in 2024 over bullying and harassment allegations.
Its executive pay plan won the blessing of more than four in five shareholders, who also voted overwhelmingly to re-elect Peter Tonagh as a director.
Mr Tonagh is set replace Ms West as chair, who will step down after 18 months in the role.
Multiple shareholders lauded Nine’s financial performance relative to its traditional media peers, bolstered by growth in its streaming platform Stan and the $3 billion sale of real estate platform Domain to US company CoStar Group.
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