ACMA Rules SBS Breached Gambling Advertising Rules During Tour de France Broadcast
Australia's media watchdog has officially determined that the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) violated the country's gambling advertising regulations when it aired a Crown Resorts commercial during its live coverage of the 2025 Tour de France. The ruling, finalized on March 31, 2026, by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), highlights the ongoing regulatory scrutiny placed on gambling-related advertising during live sporting events in Australia — and signals that even subtle promotions from entertainment and hospitality venues are not exempt from the rules.
What Happened? The Crown Sydney Advertisement at the Centre of the Ruling
The breach centered on a 30-second advertisement for Crown Sydney that was broadcast during SBS's live coverage of the 2025 Tour de France. At first glance, the commercial may not have seemed overtly gambling-focused. The advertisement largely showcased Crown Sydney's restaurants, accommodation facilities, and general entertainment offerings — the kind of lifestyle imagery typical of luxury resort marketing.
However, ACMA determined that the advertisement still constituted gambling advertising under the applicable broadcasting standards. Because Crown Sydney operates a casino, any promotional material associated with the venue — even content that does not explicitly feature poker machines, table games, or betting odds — can fall under the definition of gambling advertising if it promotes the brand or venue as a whole.
The timing of the broadcast was equally critical to ACMA's finding. The advertisement was screened during a period when gambling promotions are prohibited under Australian broadcasting regulations. Live sports broadcasts carry specific restrictions on when and how gambling content may be aired, with tightened rules introduced in recent years due to community concerns about the normalisation of gambling among young audiences.
Understanding Australia's Gambling Advertising Restrictions
Australia has some of the strictest gambling advertising regulations in the world, and the rules governing live sports broadcasts are particularly detailed. Under the Broadcasting Services Act and the associated codes of practice, gambling advertisements are restricted before, during, and immediately after live sporting events during certain hours — particularly in time slots that are likely to reach children and young people.
The restrictions were strengthened following widespread public debate about the volume of betting advertisements Australians were exposed to during televised sport. Research consistently shows that gambling advertising during live sport can normalize betting behavior, particularly among young males, and advocacy groups have long lobbied for tighter controls. In response, regulators and legislators have progressively tightened the rules, making compliance an increasingly complex task for broadcasters.
The challenge for broadcasters is distinguishing between what counts as a gambling advertisement and what does not. General brand advertising from a casino resort — even when it focuses entirely on food, accommodation, or entertainment — can still trigger the restrictions if the brand itself is primarily associated with gambling. This is precisely the situation ACMA found itself adjudicating in the SBS case.
SBS's Position and the Broader Implications for Broadcasters
SBS is a publicly funded broadcaster in Australia with a mandate to deliver multilingual and multicultural programming to Australian audiences. It has been a long-standing broadcaster of the Tour de France, providing comprehensive coverage of one of the world's most prestigious cycling events. The channel's coverage attracts a dedicated sporting audience and generates advertising revenue that supports its broader operations.
While SBS has not publicly contested the ACMA ruling in detail, the case raises important questions for all Australian broadcasters about the due diligence required when accepting advertising from casino and resort operators. The line between lifestyle advertising and gambling promotion is increasingly thin, and the regulatory consequences of getting it wrong are real.
For broadcasters, the ruling serves as a clear warning that ACMA is actively monitoring compliance — not just with obviously gambling-related advertisements, but with any promotional content connected to gambling venues. Broadcasters need to scrutinize not only the content of an advertisement but also the nature of the advertiser and the timing of the placement relative to live sporting content.
Crown Sydney: A Casino Resort Under the Spotlight
Crown Sydney has faced considerable regulatory attention in Australia over recent years. The venue, located at Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour, has been the subject of multiple investigations into its suitability to operate a casino in New South Wales. The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission previously moved to block Crown Sydney from operating poker machines, reflecting ongoing concerns about governance, money laundering risks, and the broader social impact of the casino's operations.
Against that backdrop, the ACMA ruling adds another layer of regulatory pressure to Crown's public image and marketing activities. Any advertising campaign carried out by Crown entities will now face heightened scrutiny from both regulators and the public, particularly when it appears adjacent to live sporting content viewed by large family audiences.
What This Means for the Future of Gambling Advertising in Australia
The ACMA ruling against SBS is unlikely to be an isolated event. Australian regulators have signaled a clear intent to enforce gambling advertising restrictions rigorously, and public and political pressure to go further — potentially banning gambling advertising during live sport altogether — continues to mount.
Several parliamentary inquiries have examined whether the current restrictions go far enough, with some advocates calling for a total prohibition on gambling advertising during live sporting broadcasts, similar to tobacco advertising bans introduced decades ago. While no such blanket ban is currently in place, the regulatory direction of travel is unmistakable.
For advertisers in the gambling and casino resort sector, the lesson is equally clear. Brand advertising that does not explicitly promote betting products can still constitute a gambling advertisement if the brand is primarily associated with gambling. Creative strategies designed to circumvent the spirit of the restrictions are unlikely to succeed under ACMA's current enforcement approach.
Conclusion
The ACMA ruling against SBS for airing a Crown Sydney advertisement during the 2025 Tour de France is a significant moment in Australia's evolving approach to gambling advertising regulation. It confirms that regulators are willing to look beyond the surface content of an advertisement to assess whether it effectively promotes gambling, and that live sports broadcasts remain a closely watched environment. For broadcasters, advertisers, and media buyers operating in this space, the message from ACMA is unambiguous: compliance with gambling advertising rules requires careful scrutiny of both content and context, and the consequences of falling short are very real.