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ACMA issues warning to 10 Play for gambling advertising breaches

28th August 2024 9:24 am GMT

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a warning to streaming service 10 Play for breaching gambling advertising rules during two live-streamed sports events.

The communications regulator investigated the service provided by broadcaster Network Ten following complaints related to live streams of an A-League Women match and an international match between the Australia and England women’s team in October 2023.

In Australia, gambling ads on streaming platforms are prohibited during live sporting events between 5:30am and 8:30pm, including the five minutes before and after the event.

The international match was shown during the early hours of the morning and the A-League match was shown in the afternoon, so the restrictions on gambling advertising applied.

The broadcaster said the breach occurred due to an error in a manual coding process which has now been upgraded to provide more automation around the scheduling of gambling ads.

In issuing the warning, the ACMA noted that this was 10 Play’s first breach and that it was cooperative throughout the investigation.

The ACMA will take further enforcement action against 10 Play if the streaming service is found to be in breach of advertising rules again.

ACMA authority member Carolyn Lidgerwood said 10 Play needs to improve to ensure it complies with the legal requirements regarding gambling advertising.

“These rules are in place to minimise potential harm caused by gambling promotional content,” Lidgerwood said. “Streaming services are expected to have systems in place to provide their ads in line with the law.”