The ACT government has rebuked the GWS Giants for signing a sponsorship deal with gambling giant Tabcorp, describing the deal as “deeply disappointing” given mounting evidence of gambling-related harm.
The sponsorship arrangement has resulted in star players promoting the bookmaker in social media videos shared with the club’s more than 120,000 followers on Instagram.
The ACT attorney general, Shane Rattenbury, who has previously described the gambling industry’s targeting of young men as “insidious”, said the club’s partnership with Tabcorp was irresponsible and an outlier in the AFL.
“I am really disappointed to see the Giants strike this deal with the TAB as we need to see a reduction in the link between sport and sports gambling,” Rattenbury said.
“There is simply too much advertising during sport and young people, in particular, are significantly overexposed and are in fact facing saturation levels of gambling advertising. It’s not a healthy connection.”
Rattenbury’s criticism comes one year after the ACT government struck a deal with the Giants, reportedly worth $28.5m, to secure games at Canberra’s Manuka stadium until at least 2032. The club has more than 6,000 members in the territory.
“The Giants are really going against the tide here and that is disappointing to see because the Victorian clubs have taken a very responsible approach,” Rattenbury said. “The Giants are going in the opposite direction.”
All Victorian AFL clubs have partnered with the state’s responsible gambling foundation and turned their backs on sports betting sponsorships. This is despite the AFL having a lucrative partnership with its official wagering partner, Sportsbet, and getting a cut of gambling turnover on its games.
The GWS Giants declined to comment.
A Tabcorp spokesperson said it was partnering with high-profile teams to create content but would not be putting its logo on their guernseys. The company has also signed deals with the Brisbane Broncos, Parramatta Eels and the Brisbane Lions.
“We believe there is too much gambling advertising on TV and have voluntarily stopped free to air advertising between 6am and 8.30pm,” a spokesperson said. “We know the community is over it and it’s the right thing to do.”
Almost two-thirds of Sydney’s gambling losses come from western Sydney. Academics at Western Sydney University recently described gambling-related harm in the community as a “silent epidemic”.
ACT Labor MLA Dr Marisa Paterson, who is a former director of the Centre for Gambling Research at the Australian National University, also said the sponsorship was “incredibly disappointing”.
“What this demonstrates is it doesn’t matter what harm is caused or what community expectations are – gambling will proliferate through our sport until there are laws to stop it,” Paterson said.
“That is why it is so critically important that the federal government move on recommendations from the parliamentary inquiry to stop gambling advertising in Australian sport.”
Rattenbury also called on the federal government to ban gambling advertising. He said the ACT government recently received legal advice stating it could adopt South Australia’s total ban on advertising between 4pm and 7.30pm. But those restrictions would not ban digital content shared on social media.
The attorney general said Tabcorp was “ruthless” in its pursuit of new customers and had deliberately targeted the GWS Giants’ digital team to expand its reach.
Tabcorp has described its sponsorship as “a great opportunity to grow the brand of clubs and their athletes, as well as providing innovative content for our customers”.
Paterson said independent research had shown advertising by gambling companies had increased the awareness and popularity of gambling among young sports fans.
“We will continue to see more harm caused by online gambling in our community unless something is urgently done about it, and it has to happen at a national level,” Paterson said.
