Australian anti-gambling group seeks advertising ban through shareholder activism

AGR has teamed up with activist trading platform SIX to use a shareholder resolution to influence the media giants’ policies. The move comes as AGR is unhappy with the Australian Government’s proposed gambling advertising restrictions, which the group says fail to meet the recommendations of the Murphy Report calling for a complete advertising ban last year.

AGR’s chief advocate, the Rev Tim Costello, has revealed that he has acquired a minimal stake in Nine and Seven West, urging others to follow suit. They have partnered with SIX to develop a shareholder resolution to be tabled at their AGMs this year.

The proposed resolution calls for a complete ban on gambling advertising across all platforms owned by the companies, including TV, radio, streaming, digital and print. Under Australian law, only 100 shareholders are required to table a resolution.

Seven West owns Australia’s leading television network Seven, as well as The Sunday Times newspaper and the 7News website. Nine Entertainment, in turn, controls the Nine Network, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review.

AGR says there is strong public support for a ban on gambling advertising. In a statement, Costello said: “It’s clear that these big media companies will not tackle the threat of gambling advertising unless they are forced to. We’ve waited too long for the government to act, so we’re now using the power of shareholders to take action.”

Costello also highlighted that seven in 10 Australians support a ban on gambling advertising on TV, citing figures showing Australians lose around A$25 billion on gambling each year, the “highest per capita rate in the world”.

SIX CEO and co-founder Adam Verwey said: “This move will present institutional investors and superannuation funds with a choice: support a resolution that has broad public support, or reject it. Given the huge social costs of gambling, it is difficult to argue that an advertising ban is not in the best financial interests of superannuation fund members.”

The government’s gambling advertising proposals include a ban on online advertising and advertising during children’s programming. It would also limit the number of ads to two per hour within a general programming window. However, a total ban, as required by the AGR, is not planned. Newspaper advertising would be exempt, allowing gambling to remain in print media.

The ban on social media and online advertising is set to come into effect from July 2025, while restrictions on TV advertising will come into effect from July 2026.

Earlier this month, Australian Government Services Minister Bill Shorten suggested that a complete ban on gambling advertising could undermine the economics of free-to-air television in the country, which he said was already “under threat” from competition from digital platforms such as Facebook. “I’m not convinced that a complete ban would be effective,” Shorten told ABC Australia’s Q+A. “We’re in a difficult situation where some media outlets need gambling advertising revenue to survive.”