ACMA Sets No Follower Threshold for Australia's Ban on Notable People in Betting Ads

Australia's media regulator has published its first guidance on the ban on athletes, celebrities, influencers and prominent individuals in wagering advertising, and it draws the line wide: there is no follower count, no time limit on "former", and the legal risk sits entirely with the bookmaker. The rules start on 1 January 2027.

• The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published initial guidance on the rule that, from 1 January 2027, bars licensed bookmakers from featuring a "notable person" in wagering advertising or contracting one to promote it
• The Act defines a notable person to include any current or former professional athlete, celebrity, social media influencer or prominent individual, and ACMA says there is no prescribed number of followers or verification status for an influencer to count
• The rules apply on every platform, including television, radio, news websites, online games and social media, and the obligation rests with the licensed operator, not the person in the advert
• Each contravention carries a civil penalty of 1,000 penalty units under the Act, A$364,000 at the current Commonwealth penalty unit value, and every broadcast or online placement counts separately
• The guidance does not mention AI-generated likenesses, the issue raised last week when the AFL told Sportsbet to remove AI videos of its players

ACMA Draws the Notable-Person Line Wide, and Puts It on the Operator

ACMA has published Guidance on notable persons in wagering advertising content, dated October 2026, as initial guidance to help licensed bookmakers prepare, NEXT.io reported on 19 October. The ban is in the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, which Parliament passed on 19 August, which received Royal Assent on 26 August and whose advertising restrictions commence on 1 January 2027. Formal guidelines on the wider regime may follow, ACMA says.

Section 62F of the amended Act says a notable person "includes" a current or former professional sports player or athlete, celebrity, social media influencer or prominent individual, "regardless of whether the person is in or outside Australia", and lets the Minister add or exclude classes of people. Section 62W bars an operator from making a contract, arrangement or understanding relating to "the sponsorship, participation or involvement of a notable person" in promoting wagering advertising, and from authorising or causing advertising to be broadcast or provided online where a notable person "is featured or represented, or can be seen or heard". Each limb carries 1,000 penalty units, and every broadcast or online placement is a separate contravention. At A$364 per unit, the Commonwealth value since 1 July 2026 according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, that is A$364,000, approximately $253,000, each time. The guidance does not discuss penalties.

ACMA calls the definition "purposefully broad" and not limited to people who appeal to children, because notable people also appeal to those at risk of harm and to "growing segments of the online wagering market, such as younger men". It will assess cases individually, weighing the context of the appearance, public recognition, media exposure, professional achievements and the ability to influence others. The core test is whether an operator engaged someone, as themselves or as a character, "to benefit from the recognisability and favour (or, possibly, notoriety)" they enjoy.

No Follower Count, No Expiry Date

A former athlete is anyone who earned a living from professional sport, with "no fixed definition or timeframe" for when someone stops counting; a cricketer retired more than 10 years ago who still appears in the media would likely be caught. Celebrities include media and radio personalities, actors, models, comedians, authors and musicians, and ACMA says the category is "likely to include anyone" an operator engages because of their recognisability, such as a breakfast radio host reading an in-programme advert.

For influencers, including content creators, vloggers, podcasters and brand ambassadors, there is "no prescribed number of followers or subscribers" and no verification requirement. If a person with a social media presence has been paid by an operator to appear in advertising, "it is likely that they are a notable person"; an esports commentator with fewer than 10,000 followers may qualify. Prominent individuals can include politicians, academics, business leaders, high-wealth individuals and advocates, down to a former local mayor.

Status can change. If an unknown actor on a 12-month contract lands a leading role in a hit international series six months in, the operator must take "all reasonably available steps" to withdraw the advertising, ACMA says, and operators should brief their creative agencies and weigh that risk in talent contracts. The only exception is racing content on a dedicated racing programme, channel or online service, and both conditions must be met. ACMA names racing.com and the Melbourne Cup coverage on Channel 9 as examples; a programme mixing racing with NRL and AFL would not qualify.

Paid Talent Is Now Presumed Notable, Which Is a Stricter Test Than Britain's

The guidance turns a question of fame into a question of commercial intent. Under a rule Britain's advertising codes have applied since October 2022, gambling ads may not feature people of "strong appeal" to under-18s, which removed top-flight footballers but left room for figures with adult audiences. ACMA has rejected that anchor, and its examples point to a working presumption: if an operator pays someone to appear as themselves, they are probably notable. The only safe ground it identifies is an anonymous actor with no public profile in a generic advert. That fits an Act that says "includes" rather than "means", but leaves operators carrying the judgement, with a penalty for every placement. The likely response is for compliance teams to treat any named face as off limits.

Existing Ambassador Deals Survive on Paper but Not on Screen

Under the Act's transitional provisions, the contract limb applies only to arrangements made on or after 1 January 2027, so existing ambassador deals are not unlawful in themselves. The broadcast limb applies to any advert aired or posted from that date, whenever the deal was signed, so those contracts become largely unusable outside racing. The venue and uniform rules work differently: arrangements made before the bill's introduction on 2 July 2026 are grandfathered until 31 December 2031. ACMA, which is considering publishing a list of those deals, accepts that a notable person may still be seen wearing a bookmaker's logo under one. The same athlete may vanish from a bookmaker's adverts in January while its logo stays on the shirt, potentially until the end of 2031.

The Guidance Is Silent on the Case Already in Front of It

Last week Sportsbet removed AI-generated clips of AFL players, made without their consent, after the players' union complained to the league and Guardian Australia asked about them. The Act asks whether a notable person is "featured or represented", and the guidance includes people appearing "as themselves, or as a character", but it does not mention synthetic likenesses at all. That matters, because the cheapest way to keep a recognisable face in a campaign is to stop hiring the person. ACMA says compliance alerts and investigation reports will follow commencement. Pressure for more will not ease: the 2023 inquiry chaired by Peta Murphy, You win some, you lose more, recommended a phased, comprehensive ban on online gambling advertising within three years, and crossbench MPs are backing a Northern Territory bill to ban bonus bets.

ACMA has set a broad, operator-facing test and left the hardest questions, synthetic players and phase-out timeframes, for later guidance. Operators have about 10 weeks to strip recognisable faces from their Australian marketing, and the first enforcement case will show how wide the regulator intends the line to be.