Australians Will Soon Be Able to Block Gambling Ads: What Changes for Players

The government has compared the new system to Australia’s Do Not Call Register, which is already available nationwide. Users will be able to register their details and indicate that they do not wish to receive any online gambling advertisements. Platforms will then have to take that preference into account when deciding which ads to show them.

The exact technical process has not been finalised yet, so it remains unclear precisely how platforms will match people against the central register, although the government says the technology will work in a similar way to the existing BetStop system.

The register is intended to cover popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X, but the government says it will apply across a much wider range of online services, including news websites and streaming platforms such as Twitch and Kick, where gambling advertising also appears very regularly.

There will also be a triple-lock system for online gambling advertising, which will require platforms that show gambling ads to have a logged-in user, verify that the user is 18+, and provide them with the option to opt out of gambling advertising.

This is not a major change for players, and it likely won’t affect how Australians access or use gambling services. What it does provide is another option for people who would rather not see gambling ads while browsing social media, watching streams or reading news on websites.

You can see the new opt-out register as another responsible gambling tool, even if it’s relatively simple. Players who feel they are seeing too many wagering ads will have the option to remove them from much of their online experience, without having to stop gambling altogether.

It’s always useful to have that choice, even though opting out may make little difference for some players, while others may prefer to have fewer gambling ads appearing in front of them.

Australians won’t have to wait for the national opt-out register to start seeing changes to gambling advertising. From 1 January 2027, new rules will restrict where and when wagering ads can appear, including a ban during live sports coverage between 5 am and 8.30 pm, as well as limits on the number of wagering ads that can be shown on television during those hours.

The gambling reforms also prohibit wagering advertising in sports venues and on players’ and officials’ uniforms, while athletes, celebrities and influencers will no longer be able to promote wagering.

The bigger question is how effectively the online opt-out system will work once it is introduced. ACMA has up to 12 months to build the register, and the technical challenge is significant given the number of platforms and services involved.

The government has also acknowledged that platforms could simply choose not to show gambling ads rather than comply with the requirements, if they wanted to, although this scenario seems very unlikely to us.

We’ll have to wait until the system is operating to see how effective it actually is. For now, the main change is that Australians will have another option: if they don’t want to see gambling advertising, they’ll be able to opt out.