Children across Australia will continue to see gambling logos on professional sport jerseys until up to 2032 despite the government’s pledge to break the link between sport and wagering.
The Albanese government has banned gambling company logos on jerseys but legislated a five-year transition period to allow clubs and bookmakers to adjust.
The 2032 deadline has been criticised by public health experts, who question why the government recognised the logos as harmful but allowed them to remain for so long.
The grandfathering provisions mean a child in year 8 today could see gambling logos on a sports professional jersey until they finish school.
The five-year window has been criticised by the crossbench senator David Pocock, who called on clubs to end jersey sponsorships “at the earliest opportunity”.
“We are in an absurd situation where by the time of the legislation’s three-year statutory review, jerseys may still have betting logos on them,” Pocock said.
The Liberal MP Andrew Wallace, who crossed the floor to vote against the bill, said five years was too generous and that he pushed his party room to accept a two-year deadline.
“I thought that was an appropriate period to allow these sporting codes and clubs to find alternatives and to cease those gambling company connections,” Wallace said.
When asked about the five-year window, the communications minister, Anika Wells, said one unnamed sports club had a jersey deal until 2031.
Wells said she hoped clubs would end their jersey deals with wagering companies earlier, but stressed that was a commercial decision for clubs and not government.
“In trying to strike a balance here between grandfathering existing arrangements and ensuring viability, that’s what we got to,” Wells told reporters.
“That [2031 contract] is the most egregious one (…) but there’s plenty that are expiring this year, for example.”
Seven NRL clubs have the wagering or lottery company logos on their jerseys, with several contracts running until at least the end of the 2028 season.
Samantha Thomas, a public health expert specialising in gambling harm, said the five-year window meant it was “difficult to take the government seriously when it claims to be trying to break the nexus between gambling and sport”.
“We should be really concerned about the government’s lack of urgency to protect kids from gambling marketing,” Thomas said.
“The government has effectively said that they recognise that gambling sponsorship is harmful to children and then decided that it can continue for the next five years.”
Martin Thomas from the Alliance for Gambling Reform has also criticised the grandfathering provisions and said it “underscored how little a difference these compromised gambling reforms will make”.
The Brisbane Broncos have a jersey deal with The Star until the end of next season, although the club is yet to reveal its 2027 shirt and is in discussions with the casino. The Star did not respond before deadline.
The Penrith Panthers signed a jersey deal with Picklebet in 2025 that, according to the club, will last until “at least” the end of the 2027 season.
The Newcastle Knights have a jersey deal with Palmerbet that reportedly runs until the end of 2028. The club declined to comment on the specifics of this deal.
In 2024 the Gold Coast Titans signed a jersey deal with The Lottery Office, although this is exempt from the changes due to a carveout for domestic lotteries.
The Dolphins have a jersey contract with the gambling company Betr, which merged with the existing shirt sponsor BlueBet in 2024.
The West Tigers have a deal jersey deal with NextBet, which was previously known as Play Up. This long-running contract will expire before 2032.
The Sydney Roosters extended a longstanding jersey deal with UniBet in July last year. The logo also features on jerseys worn by the club’s women’s team.
A draft exposure of the bill circulated in late May did not include the 31 December 2031 deadline, with that date appearing to have been only confirmed when the legislation was finally introduced into parliament.
