Gambling ad ban coming soon to Australian live sports broadcasts

Televised live sporting matches in Australia will have less commercials by the end of the month as the “siren to siren” ban on gambling ads take effect.

Mumbrella reported that the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) will implement new advertising rules on March 30, including the prohibition of all gambling ads during live sport coverage between 5 a.m. and 8.30 p.m.

The ban takes effect five minutes before the start of play and extends to five minutes after the game ends, according to the new ASTRA rules that was approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

On a regular day, gambling commercials will be allowed to air subject to the pre-existing gambling advertising rules. Except for any Fox Sports channel, ASTRA has exempted all sports channels with an audience share of below 0.5 percent from the new rules.