What are the new taglines online betting companies will be required to show?

Under the new advertisement rules announced by the government, online betting & gambling companies will have to ask their punters questions such as, “What’s gambling really costing you?" and "What are you really gambling with?"

All betting companies that offer services through apps or websites for all TV, video, radio, digital, print, social media and in-app advertising will have to abide by these rules as reported by abc.net.au.

The current ‘gamble responsibly’ tag must be replaced with seven new options which will come into effect from April next year for all online wagering companies.

The new taglines are:

• "Chances are you're about to lose"
• "Imagine what you could be buying instead"
• "You win some. You lose more"
• "What's gambling really costing you?"
• "Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?"
• "What are you prepared to lose? Set a deposit limit"
• "What are you really gambling with?"

The new rules released by the federal government are a part of the National Consumer Protection Framework. All states and union territories have agreed to abide by these rules.

If reports are to be believed, Australia has the world's highest gambling losses per capita, at $1,276/year. Central Queensland University researchers claim that gambling more than doubled in the last eight years leading to 2019/20. The researchers also found out that the most common age group was 20 to 49 as reported by abc.net.au.

Social Service Minister Amanda Rishworth said that the current tagline “doesn't do the job of getting punters to think and to minimise harm" as reported by abc.net.au.

At present, there is a House of Representatives standing committee inquiry into online gambling. The committee will be accepting submissions of recommendations from people and organisations until November 11.

Ms Rishworth did not make any comment on whether the government will impose a total ban on gambling advertisements but said that the new rules were one of the many steps taken to address online gambling.