🔒 🔒 ACMA clarifies triple-lock rules for online wagering ads, exempting dedicated racing sites and apps

Online services that want to keep carrying wagering advertising from January 1, 2027, will have to confirm users’ ages, restrict those ads to logged-in account holders and let users opt out across their entire account, under initial guidance published by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Dedicated racing and wagering websites and apps, including those run by licensed bookmakers, are exempt from the so-called triple lock. However, the social media presence of the same businesses is not.

“For clarity, the exception does not apply to social media profiles or pages of racing or wagering companies or organisations on a social media service, as these profiles or pages do not fall into the meaning of an online content service,” the guidance states.

The rules stem from the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, which passed parliament in August and inserts Part 7C into the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

The legislation prohibits wagering advertising on online content services, and its delivery to restricted users, unless the triple lock or another exception applies. That means anyone in Australia who is under 18, has not confirmed their age, is not logged into a registered account or has opted out cannot receive the advertising under the triple-lock exception.

For racing businesses, the distinction is where their content appears. The racing exemption covers a licensed wagering provider’s website or app, along with any other site or app entirely or mainly dedicated to wagering or entirely or mainly providing racing content, but general online services carrying racing material must apply the triple lock unless another exception, such as specified simulcast arrangements, is available.

For bookmakers, clubs and racing bodies, wagering promotion on their social media pages will therefore depend on whether the platform itself meets the triple-lock requirements.

ACMA said it intends to publish a list of online content service providers that have implemented the triple lock, so consumers can identify participating services.

The Straight understands that compliance with the new wagering laws is one of the reasons behind the AFL’s introduction of registration requirements for access to some online content on its apps and website.

The distinction also extends to the content itself: wagering advertising includes sponsorship and promotional content, as well as in-program and unpaid material, so payment is not the test.

That does not mean every appearance of a wagering brand is captured. ACMA distinguishes incidental branding from promotion, excluding advertising for a race meeting sponsored by a licensed wagering provider or a venue that offers wagering. User-generated content and private communications without a bookmaker’s involvement also fall outside its intended meaning.

For services relying on the triple lock, the immediate task is to have their own opt-out system working from January 1, rather than waiting for the national register.

“Online content service providers that do not have an opt-out system in place from 1 January 2027 will not meet the triple lock exception and, as such, will not be able to provide wagering advertising content on their service until they meet the requirements of this or other relevant exceptions,” the guidance says.

“The ACMA also notes that this requirement is account-based rather than device-based. This reflects the fact that many users access their online content services accounts across multiple devices including mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and computers,” the regulator said.

The practical effect is that a user’s choice must follow them across devices and stop all wagering advertising, including in-program references. ACMA says opting out should require minimal effort, cannot be bundled with other choices and must be free or close to it, with providers expected to remind users of the option at least annually.

“An opt out mechanism that is hidden away in fine print, or lengthy policies or that require multiple click-throughs to find, would not be considered reasonable,” ACMA said.

Providers can check age by drawing on information about a user, estimating their age or verifying it, with ACMA encouraging them to combine several approaches. Government identification, including Digital ID, cannot be the only option offered.

The choice of age-checking method also depends on the account: using account activity to assess an established user’s age may not be reasonable at sign-up because it relies on engagement over time, while wagering ads must not appear on children’s profiles.

The national Wagering Advertising Opt-Out Register will start on a date yet to be proclaimed by the Minister. Once it does, providers must promote both their own mechanism and the register, and check the register at least every 14 days.

Behind those safeguards, providers will need to show how their systems work in practice. They must show they have taken reasonable steps, which ACMA will assess against their size, resources and risk profile, and must keep records for 12 months after an ad is displayed. Those records may need to include results of individual users’ age checks, login data, opt-out use and records of ads shown.

The guidance sits alongside ACMA’s October advice on the notable-person advertising ban, which carved out racing where an ad relates solely or principally to racing and appears on a dedicated racing program, channel or online service.

ACMA has asked providers intending to rely on the exception to notify it so they can be kept informed as the register is developed.