Nine Entertainment’s board directors have been urged to end the network’s gambling addiction and the network has been condemned as ‘shameful’ for actively lobbying the Federal Government to scrap gambling reform.
The chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello, on the eve of the company’s AGM this Thursday condemned Nine’s reliance on gambling advertising and compared it to tobacco advertising.
“The evidence shows that every gambling ad is dangerous in luring people, especially children, into gambling. We banned tobacco advertising decades ago, we must ban gambling advertising today,” Rev. Costello said.
“And it is shameful that Nine executives are actively lobbying the Communications Minister Michelle Rowland in order to get her to scuttle a parliamentary committee’s recommendation for a full ad ban.”
Rev. Costello is attending the AGM alongside Mark Kempster who is a reformed gambler and part of the Alliance’s Voices of Lived Experience of Gambling Group.
Mr Kempster, who lost more than $100,000 to online gambling and sports betting, said that despite being an avid footy fan, he was no longer able to watch sport on Nine because the ads were too triggering for him.
“Gambling advertising had a profound affect on my addiction and still has a huge affect on me to this day as a recovering gambling addict. I hear the same message from everyone I help with their gambling problems – they feel utterly trapped by gambling advertising and can no longer watch sport on television due to the danger of relapsing by seeing just one gambling ad,” he said.
“The Nine network should be utterly ashamed of themselves that they are facilitating the gambling industry to continue their predatory, insidious practices and the fact they are actively lobbying to continue gambling advertising on TV shows their care more about money and profit then they do about the lives of the Australians they are running on a daily basis.”
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has joined forces with activist share trading platform SIX to use investor power to stop gambling ads at Australia’s big media companies.
Adam Verwey, CEO and co-founder of SIX, said “Time and again, Australia’s biggest companies have shown that they only care about one group of people, their shareholders. So if we want to make change at some of Australia’s biggest companies, then we need to do it as owners of those companies.”
"Given the huge community cost of gambling, it’s hard to argue that banning gambling ads isn’t in the best financial interests of investors such as major super fund members."
Australians lose almost $32 billion each year to gambling, the highest per capita spend in the world. The losses cause social harm across Australia on an industrial scale including health and mental health conditions, exacerbate domestic violence and marriage break up as well as contributing to up to one in five suicides.
Rev. Costello said rather than lobbying from the outside, the Alliance for Gambling Reform and SIX will aim to change Australia’s big media companies from the inside as shareholders.
“The media companies are completely out of touch when it comes to gambling ads. 7 out of 10 Australians want gambling advertisements on TV to be banned,” Rev. Costello said.
“It’s clear that these big media companies are not going to tackle the scourge of gambling ads until they are forced to. We’ve waited too long for governments to act, so now we’re using shareholder power to take action.”
For further comment: 07 3180 0630 or media@agr.org.au
Tim Costello
Mark Kempster
Adam Verwey
About us:
The Alliance is a national advocacy organisation which works to prevent and minimise the harm from gambling. Our aim is to remove the shame that surrounds gambling addiction, have the problem treated as a public health issue, and achieve the legislative changes needed to protect our communities. We bring together well over 60 organisations who share the objectives of preventing harm from gambling.
About SIX
SIX is Australia’s first fintech to combine activism with investing. SIX’s share trading platform makes it easy for ethical investors to build a portfolio of companies that match their values, and to easily participate in shareholder advocacy campaigns.
SIX has been designed to break down the barriers for investors, advocacy groups and other stakeholders from accessing shareholder rights that are commonplace overseas.
Contact details:
media@agr.org.au – 07 3180 0630