Will 2026 State of Origin mark the final year Australians see gambling ads?

(AsiaGameHub) –   State of Origin 2026 gets underway for UK audiences this morning, and it may well be the final iteration of the series before wide-ranging advertising and sponsorship reforms come into effect.

The New South Wales Blues will face off against the Queensland Maroons for the 45th edition of the annual best-of-three series, with the opening match kicking off at Accor Stadium in Sydney at 8:05pm local time, equivalent to 11:05am UK time.

Many fans are once again debating the biggest State of Origin player matchups – Tedesco against Ponga, Cleary versus Walker, Robson up against Grant – but a broader, long-running conversation has sat at the heart of Australian public debate in recent months: the standoff between gambling reform advocates and the gambling industry.

Last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that the Labor government intends to roll out “strong and decisive actions” to curb the spread of gambling advertising.

The far-reaching 2027 reforms being introduced

Starting 1 January 2027, the Australian government will put the following five measures into practice:

• Broadcast TV restrictions: A maximum of three gambling adverts per hour allowed between the hours of 6am and 8.30pm
• Live sport ad blackout: A complete ban on gambling adverts during all live sports broadcasts airing in that same time window
• Radio watershed rule: Prohibition of gambling adverts during school commute periods, specifically 8-9am and 3-4pm
• Digital platform controls: Online gambling adverts will only be accessible to logged-in users who have completed age verification confirming they are 18 or older, with mandatory opt-out functions required to be available
• Sporting environment bans: All gambling adverts will be removed from stadium premises, as well as from the uniforms worn by players and match officials

While the high-stakes on-field action is guaranteed to continue in coming years, the lineup of corporate partners affiliated with State of Origin after 2026 remains undecided.

For instance, Sportsbet, named as a “headline sponsor” for this year’s State of Origin series and also a major National Rugby League (NRL) partner, may be forced to adjust its existing arrangements to comply with the new rules.

Gambling advertising has been a longstanding point of controversy in Australia, and three years ago, the late MP Peta Murphy tabled her parliamentary inquiry into gambling-related harm and federal policy interventions, titled “You win some, you lose more”.

This document, now widely referred to as the “Murphy report”, only received an official government response recently. Officials noted they have already advanced several of Murphy’s proposed reforms, including a nationwide ban on using credit cards, credit-linked digital wallets and cryptocurrencies for both online and in-person wagering transactions, which came into force in June 2024.

Mandatory warning taglines for gambling content were introduced in 2023, the national self-exclusion register BetStop launched that same year, and policies to classify loot boxes and other ‘gambling-like’ content in video games were also rolled out.

However, pressure has been growing on the government over the pace of its response. Many critics have raised questions about the length of time it has taken officials to address and implement the measures suggested in the report, which are designed to curb the widespread expansion of the gambling industry.

Even so, the policies set to take effect at the start of next year may be the most impactful to date. While rules banning gambling adverts during live sports broadcasts before 8:30pm have already been introduced in Australia, many figures have campaigned for further reforms for years, including Senator David Pocock.

Speaking back in 2025, he said: “Almost 80% of Australians are completely fed up of turning on their TV to watch sport with their kids, only to be met with a flood of adverts featuring people posing as commentators and experts breaking down betting odds.

“That is not what sport is intended for. On top of that, you see these adverts in your social media feeds when you go online, and you hear them in podcasts.

“Gambling adverts have totally saturated Australia. In a country that has the highest per capita gambling losses in the world, we clearly should be prioritising taking real action and treating this as the public health issue that it is.”

This widespread saturation is clearly reflected in available data. According to Nielsen Ad Intel, the gambling and gaming industry in Australia spent an estimated AU$187.75 million on advertising in 2024.

While this marks a decrease from the $239 million spent the previous year, these figures do not include in-stadium advertising or sponsorship agreements. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) also found that, in the 12-month period ending 30 April 2023, the majority of gambling advertising spend was concentrated in free-to-air television markets, which made up 68% of total outlay.

Over that same period, more than a staggering one million gambling adverts were estimated to have aired across free-to-air television and metropolitan radio stations, with half of all ad slots promoting online gambling services.

Even with the government’s commitment to cracking down on gambling advertising clear, criticism still remains. Pocock, for example, has described the current proposals around sports podcast sponsorship as “bonkers” and “totally unworkable”.

More than three million State of Origin viewers could face reduced exposure

Gambling adverts will almost certainly be prominent across Australian State of Origin broadcasts from half-time onwards this year, but major reforms are on the horizon.

The sponsorship lineup for State of Origin will almost certainly have to be overhauled from 2027, as will the sponsorship partners for individual NRL clubs, along with brands displayed on stadium advertising boards and in television ad breaks.

And while these changes may put a dent in the revenues of betting operators, clubs and broadcasters alike, they will be warmly welcomed by those who have campaigned tirelessly for gambling reform across the country.

State of Origin matches consistently draw audiences of more than three million people across Australia – meaning that starting with the 2027 State of Origin series, as many as three million fewer Australians could be exposed to gambling adverts at a time when they are most likely to be tempted to place a bet.

While next year’s changes may seem insignificant in the moment compared to the highly anticipated on-field events of this year’s State of Origin, they will certainly mark a step forward for Australian authorities in their bid to reduce gambling-related harm.