Australian regulators are being more careful about social media influencers who promote gambling content. They believe that some posts might go beyond gambling laws and support betting among young people.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) confirms that they are monitoring influencer content and analyzing whether promotions are harmless or not.
According to VGCCC, most attention is put on the content that reaches people ages 18 to 24, as they are the most vulnerable to gambling-related harm and addiction.
Victoria’s Gambling Regulation Act 2003 has placed restrictions on the promotion of poker machines. But she also notes how regulations were introduced before the rise of influencers and social media featuring gambling.
The VGCCC notes how influencers that have lots of followers and fans can shape perceptions on gambling. They are concerned about that content becoming a money source to influencers.
Australia joins the group of other countries that are worried and want to take action against gambling-related influencer marketing.
Recent regulatory measures were done in Europe: Spain has limited celebrity gambling promotions, enforcement action against German rapper Capital Bra for promoting illegal casinos, limitations on gambling advertisements by influencers in the Netherlands, and other fines issued to influencers in Finland.
Those developments demonstrate a broader international concern and gambling laws of social media.