Australia Curtails Gambling Ads, And US State Legislatures May Not Be Far Behind

One country that starts and ends with the letter “A” has gone ahead and put severe limits on gambling advertising. Your choices include Albania, America …

OK, fine, it’s Australia, as the folks down under have become the latest country to limit gambling ads. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was “getting the balance right” with the limits.

According to numerous reports, a total gambling advertising ban was on the table — and had support from both major political parties — but Albanese’s plan falls short of that.

“Letting adults have a punt if they want to, but making sure our children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look,” he said in describing the strategy to the country’s National Press Club last Thursday.

Among the new rules: gambling ads aren’t allowed on the radio during school dropoff and pickup times; celebrities and athletes are banned from appearing in gambling ads; all gambling ads online will be illegal unless the companies can prove only people over the age of 18 are seeing them, are already logged into a gambling account, and have the ability to opt out; and gambling advertising will be banned from sports stadiums and from appearing on players’ and officials’ uniforms.

Around the world

While these limitations are severe — and causing upset among the gambling companies — they are a far cry from some of the more draconian measures around the world. A sampling:

Italy has basically banned all gambling advertising since 2019, and Spain put in measures to limit advertising to the wee hours of the morning. 

Belgium followed in 2023 with a broad, phased-in ban, which culminates in ending gambling sponsorships for pro teams in 2028. The Netherlands has banned non-targeted ads online, and operators must prove the ads are only being seen by people over the age of 24. Germany limits ads to the nighttime and bans influencers from striking deals with gambling companies. Lithuania has a near-total ban, and India went ahead and not only banned the advertising, but the games themselves. 

Welcome to America

America and her 50 states have gone a different way. 

Currently, there are no state laws that impose a blanket ban on gambling advertising.

But many states are in the process of considering limits on when the gambling companies can advertise, and to whom.

The bill furthest along belongs to Colorado. SB 26-131 cleared the Senate Finance Committee on March 17 by a 5-4 vote and was sent to Appropriations. It would ban sports betting ads from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and during live sports broadcasts. It would also prohibit ads with enhanced payout promotions or instructions on how to place a bet and would block push notifications and texts that solicit bets or deposits. (It would also kill prop bets entirely and prohibit credit card deposits.) It is one of the most sweeping betting restriction bills pending anywhere in the country.

Massachusetts is not far behind. S.302, officially titled “An Act addressing economic, health and social harms caused by sports betting,” was reported favorably on March 9 and sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It would ban sports betting ads during televised sporting events and classify bonus promotions, same-game parlays, odds boosts, reload bonuses and “risk-free” or “no-sweat” offers as unfair or deceptive acts. It would also remove in-play betting and prop bets from the definition of sports wagering.

Beyond those two, the action is scattered but real. In California, AB 2617, the Protecting Kids from Online Gambling Act was introduced in the legislature Feb. 20, amended March 16, and re-referred to Committee on Governmental Organization on March 17. It would bar operators from making online gambling or prediction market wagering available to minors, ban advertising either product to minors, and require age-related compliance measures.

In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont’s HB 5038 targets prediction markets. It would ban platforms from targeting advertising to people under the age of 21, including students on college campuses. A public hearing was held Feb. 18.

New Jersey has several pending bills. S1444 would require the Division of Gaming Enforcement to restrict ads that are fraudulent, deceptive, directed at self-excluded individuals, or designed to appeal to underage people. S3401 would ban promotional push notifications and texts from casino and sports wagering licensees. S2335 would require sports wagering ads to carry stronger warnings of gambling risk. A5207, a 2025 Assembly bill, would ban online sports wagering ads entirely but has not advanced. And New Jersey already enacted Chapter 96 of 2025, barring public colleges from entering sports wagering marketing partnerships.

New York has a handful of active measures. A7962A would impose advertising and wager limits on sports betting and ban credit card deposits. A10712, the No Gambling Ads for Kids Act, would prohibit certain social media platforms from advertising gambling products to minors. A4279A and its Senate companion, S5537, the Regulating Addictive Notifications Act, would ban sportsbooks from sending push notifications or texts soliciting bets or deposits. 

In Tennessee, HB 1768 would have required sportsbooks to geofence public college campuses and block wagering access there, but the House bill failed in subcommittee on a 3-4 vote. Its Senate companion, SB 1831, is still pending.

Illinois is already past the legislative stage. The Illinois Gaming Board adopted administrative rules effective Aug. 1, 2025, banning licensed casino, sports wagering and video gaming advertising on college campuses, in school-affiliated media, and at venues primarily used for college events.

At the federal level, the SAFE Bet Act, S.1033 and H.R.2087, was announced March 12, 2025, and reintroduced in Congress that month by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Paul Tonko. It would set national standards on marketing, affordability and AI use, including banning sports betting broadcast ads from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and during live sporting events. The act, which has not progressed to any votes, would also prohibit inducement language like “bonus” and “no sweat” and restrict AI-driven personalized targeting. Colorado’s SB 26-131 closely tracks several of those core marketing restrictions.

So while American operators aren’t having quite the sweat their comrades are having in Australia and elsewhere, there are some clear warning signs coming out of the handful of state legislatures above.

In short: Don’t be surprised if advertising limits, if not outright bans, start trickling out of our nation’s statehouses.