Home News ACMA Issues New Guidance on Australia’s 2027 Gambling Advertising Restrictions

ACMA Issues New Guidance on Australia’s 2027 Gambling Advertising Restrictions

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Altay Celikkaya

Content Manager

Updated: 13/11/26

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Australia’s communications regulator has published new guidance explaining how digital platforms can continue displaying wagering advertisements under restrictions taking effect on 1 January 2027.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released its initial triple lock guidance on 12 November 2026. It outlines the steps online content providers should consider when seeking an exception to the forthcoming prohibition on wagering advertising.

The clarification gives advertising platforms and their gambling industry partners a more practical basis for reviewing targeting, account access and consumer preferences before implementation.

Australian Parliament and national flag featured in ACMA's 2027 wagering advertising reforms.

Regulation & Compliance

Key Takeaways From ACMA’s Triple Lock Guidance

Online content providers face a general prohibition on wagering advertisements from 1 January 2027.
The triple lock exception requires reasonable steps to exclude restricted users, use registered accounts and offer an advertising opt-out.
Restricted users include minors, people whose age is unconfirmed, users who are not logged in and those who have opted out.
Providers intending to rely on the exception should notify ACMA, which plans to publish a list of participating services.

How the Triple Lock Exception Works

Under the new framework, online content services may continue carrying wagering advertising only where they take reasonable steps to meet three conditions.

First, advertisements must not reach restricted users, including anyone under 18 or whose age has not been confirmed. Second, recipients must be accessing the service through a registered account. Third, registered users must have a mechanism to opt out of wagering advertisements.

Importantly, the restrictions also cover people who have opted out through a platform’s own controls or, once operational, the national Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register.

ACMA’s official announcement explains that its guidance identifies practical measures providers might adopt and how the regulator will assess whether those steps are reasonable.

Platforms Asked to Notify ACMA

ACMA said:

Providers seeking to rely on the exception should notify the ACMA.

The regulator also intends to publish a list of online content services that have implemented the triple lock, helping consumers identify participating platforms.

The guidance follows Australia’s broader gambling advertising reform agreement and ACMA’s decision to make the reforms one of its 2026–27 compliance priorities.

What Operators and Affiliates Should Prepare

For sportsbook operators, affiliates and advertising technology partners, the immediate challenge is coordinating campaigns with platforms that can demonstrate appropriate audience restrictions.

Businesses should review age-confirmation processes, authenticated advertising inventory, opt-out handling and the removal of users who withdraw consent.

These controls sit alongside separate restrictions on prominent people in wagering promotions, which ACMA clarified in October.

The November guidance does not create a new blanket ban on all gambling marketing. Instead, it explains how qualifying online content services can rely on an exception when the digital advertising restrictions commence.