Toxic relationship takes five years to break up.
For a very long time, sports and gambling have been inseparable, like two best mates who insist they’re not dating despite everyone knowing otherwise.
Now this toxic relationship is getting a well needed change in Australia, but the breakup is going to take a lot longer than desired.
The Albanese government has just passed legislation banning gambling company logos from professional sports jerseys, but clubs have been handed a five-year grace period.
That means the logos could remain on jerseys until 31 December 2031.
Yep, that’s right, the big 2032.
The government says the transition period is needed to give sporting clubs and wagering companies time to adjust their commercial arrangements and sponsorships.
But public health experts aren’t exactly celebrating.
Gambling harm researcher Samantha Thomas said the five-year window makes it “difficult to take the government seriously” when it claims to be breaking the connection between gambling and sport.
The whole reason for banning the logos is that gambling advertising around professional sport can normalise betting for young people.
So allowing those same logos to hang around for another five years feels a little like banning cigarettes from school uniforms, but giving the Year 12s permission to keep smoking indoors until graduation.
The Crossbench senator David Pocock, has also called for clubs to ditch the sponsorships “at the earliest opportunity”, while Liberal MP Andrew Wallace argued that two years would have been enough time for clubs to find new sponsors.
Several clubs already have deals extending well beyond that.
The Newcastle Knights reportedly have a deal with Palmerbet until 2028, while the Penrith Panthers’ Picklebet sponsorship rubs its brine all over the pitch and jerseys until 2027.
Other infamous sponsorship relationships include the Brisbane Broncos and The Star, and the Sydney Roosters with UniBet.
But perhaps the most infamous is union between the Gold Coast Titans and The Lottery Office.
The ban apparently will not affect the partnership, since the deal is exempt under a carve-out for domestic lotteries.
So while gambling logos are officially on their way out of Australian sport, they’re apparently taking the scenic route to get there.
