Racing excluded from federal wagering ad crackdown in Australia

Horse, harness and greyhound racing kept a critical betting lifeline in Australia’s new wagering crackdown, with the May 2026 exposure draft explicitly excluding racing from the definition of a sporting event. The carve-out also preserves exceptions for wagering advertising tied to racing, plus dedicated wagering channels, programs and venues, giving bookmakers and race clubs breathing room as the rest of sport faces tighter limits.

That matters because the wider package is built to choke off gambling’s reach across television, radio and digital platforms. From 1 January 2027, TV wagering ads will be capped at no more than three an hour between 6am and 8.30pm, with a full ban during live sport broadcasts in those hours. Radio gambling ads will be blocked during school drop-off and pick-up windows, online ads will be restricted unless users are logged in, over 18 and able to opt out, and gambling promotions will be banned in sports venues, on players’ and officials’ uniforms, and through celebrity and athlete endorsements.

For racing, that carve-out is not a minor drafting detail. The sport’s commercial model runs on wagering, and the government’s own materials acknowledge that racing and betting are intrinsically linked. If racing had been swept into the same ad rules as other sports, bookmakers could have lost a major marketing lane around race meetings, while racetracks, dedicated racing channels and broadcast partners would have faced a sharper squeeze on promotion and sponsorship. In practical terms, that could have hit turnover, media rights and the visibility that keeps racing in front of casual punters.

The political backdrop is long and messy. The 2023 Murphy inquiry made 31 recommendations, including a phased comprehensive ban on online gambling advertising, but Parliament’s policy brief said the government had not formally committed to that line as of February 2026. The Albanese government announced its gambling reform package on 2 April 2026 and tabled its response to the inquiry in May 2026, nearly 1,050 days after the report landed.

The package also promises stronger BetStop protections, a crackdown on illegal offshore operators, consistent match-fixing offences nationwide and more financial counselling support. Government figures say BetStop has recorded 58,000 total registrations and 36,000 active registrations, underscoring how many Australians are already trying to step away from wagering. Andrew Wilkie’s 2025 private member’s bill to remove greyhound racing from excluded wagering services showed the carve-out has never been politically settled, and the remaining drafting questions mean racing has won breathing room, not a permanent victory.