Conroy gambles on TV deal for live odds
Update: Free TV Australia denies a report Stephen Conroy brokered a deal with the TV industry on live gambling odds.
- Published by David Knox
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Gambling commentators such as Tom Waterhouse will still be allowed to spruik live odds before play, during scheduled breaks and suspension in play as well as after play, under amendments to the TV code of practice.
Communications minister Stephen Conroy brokered the deal for Free TV Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, despite on-going criticism to eradicate promotion of odds during Live sports broadcasts.
The changes would ban promotion of live odds during play, including by commentators, and rule out commercials that update live odds during play.
But Labor MP Stephen Jones will address caucus next Tuesday to rally support for a ban on live odds and all gambling advertising in the PG classification time to 8.30pm.
Yesterday Conroy also told media South Australia had no power to ban gambling odds during sports broadcasts.
“They do have certain other powers, but they reached an agreement at COAG (Council of Australian Governments) to go through a consultation phase,” he said.
Free TV Australia’s changes are being considered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Additional source: News Limited
UPDATE: Statement from Free TV Australia (edited):
Today’s claim in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age that “The Minister for Communications brokered a deal with the television industry to allow betting companies to continue spruiking live odds” is incorrect.
The draft code was developed by Free TV, and reflects the position of its members, not the government.
The quote attributed to Free TV CEO Julie Flynn was made in the context of a detailed discussion of the process involved in developing the Code.
10 Responses
The argument is crazy. It goes that if kids even see a mathematical expression of probability of something happening they will become gambling addicts.
Firstly kids can’t gamble on sports it is illegal. And whenever they claim evidence about the harm gambling causes it from adults playing pokies, which has nothing to do with sports betting.
So why don’t politicians implement the Productive Commission reforms or Wilkie and Xenophon’s reforms on poker machines or the Senate Committee recommendations for regulating online gambling to stop problem gambling? Because politicians fund health and education with money taken from pokie addicts run their campaigns on donations from hotels and club lobby groups, casinos and Aristocrat.
So instead we get this stupid campaign that we must do it to save the children, even though it has nothing to do with children. Backed by people obsessed with trying to controlling everything that other people do for their own good, and those who want to watch the NRL without annoying ads. It is the same sort of stupid mob behind the Volstead Act.
People may not like those annoying ads but they pay the players wages, funds the sports and the broadcasts that people watch for free and without ads there is no free broadcast of top quality sport.
@Sifter – it’s during *scheduled* breaks in play; ie quarter- and half-time. Still doesn’t go far enough in my opinion.
During scheduled breaks?
So how is it different to now?
Commentator:”We’ll take a quick break, back soon’
In the ad break:
Tom Waterhouse: ‘gimme all your money’.
Inconsequential policy from a useless politician. Surely the FTA networks would be happy to help out since he gave them a massive, massive payoff a few years ago.
September 14, he is gone. Hopefully forever.
Josh see update.
@ rach…oh yes it will. As a future career for him, I would suggest parking ticket inspector, however I think he might find that role a little beyond his abilities
Won’t it be terrific on Sept 14th to see this incompetent communications minister no longer in this portfolio or government.
Just like a surgeon amputating a toe when the whole leg is gangrenous.
Will WIN and Seven take on the SA gov’t by breaching the law of the state? Dare or double dare?
My least favourite pollie. Someone who talks so much and achieves so little.
Anything else I have to say about this individual would be expleteive ridden and technically defamatory, so I will leave it at that…
I really don’t get the argument that kids need to be protected from gambling. I mean, I get it – but you don’t need to legislate it. We have no problem with alcohol or fast food being advertised in sports broadcasts, and they can be just as damaging to kids…Maybe if parents actually taught their kids about the dangers of gambling rather than trying to insulate them from even hearing about it.
The biggest issue to me about live odds is the potential for match fixing and ruining the entire product that is being bet on.
The idea that odds can still be advertised only during ‘breaks in play’ is particularly broad. During any sporting contest there are countless breaks in play and even in continous sports like soccer, a break in play might be a substitution or the ball going out – it’s not stringent enough…
Conroy is such a worm. He’s trying to earn a job in media for when he’s booted out of parliament in September.
To bad for him that following his last attempt at media reforms he’s made himself unemployable.