In Australia, regulator investigates Disney+ for circumventing ban on betting ads during permissible times

Australian regulator ACMA beginnings investigation against the streaming service «Disney+» for showing betting advertisements during prohibited hours. In Australia it is prohibited to advertise bookmakers 5 minutes before the start and 5 minutes after the end of a sporting event between 5:00 and 20:30, but there is an exception for channels with an audience share of less than 0.5%.

The sports channel ESPN operated on Foxtel and Fetch cable platforms with low audience share and received this exemption. Since March, ESPN has appeared on Disney+, which has 3.3 million subscribers in Australia. «Disney+» continued to run betting ads during the banned hours, claiming they were simply streaming ESPN from Foxtel and complying with all regulations. The ACMA disagrees with this interpretation of the rules and demands additional information from the company.

Tim Costello of Alliance for Gambling Reform, a national organization working to prevent gambling harms, called it a shame, given the platform's predominantly child audience.