Call to ban booze, bets and bad food ads during sport, ahead of State of Origin

Children watching State of Origin tonight will be “bombarded” with advertising for alcohol, gambling and fast food, with research showing one-in-four ads during the event will be for those products, triggering renewed calls for a ban.

Children watching State of Origin tonight will be “bombarded” with advertising for alcohol, gambling and fast food, with research to be released today showing one-in-four ads during the sporting event are for those products.

It is prompting calls from Teal MP Dr Sophie Scamps for laws banning advertising for the products during certain times.

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education research to be released on Wednesday shows the advertising is not just on the television, but popping on mobile phone feeds via social media.

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education CEO Caterina Giorgi Foundation. Picture: Supplied

There were 16 sponsorships for Origin that are alcohol, unhealthy food or gambling, while 35 per cent of all unique Facebook and Instagram advertisements featured sporting content, including specific reference to the State or Origin, according to the research.

FARE CEO Caterina Giorgi said families and their children watching the Origin would be “bombarded” with advertising for unhealthy products.

“The problem is our kids the associate these products with sporting success, with the positive feelings you have when you engage with these sporting events,” she said.

“The younger that kids are exposed to alcohol marketing, the more likely they are to drink at riskier levels and the more likely the are to engage in drinking earlier in their lives.”

Dr Scamps, who has a private members bill before parliament seeking to ban junk food advertising between 6am and 9:30pm, said the government should consider similar bans for alcohol and gambling as well.

Teal MP for Mackeller Dr Sophie Scamps. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“We know simply targeting children’s content on TV doesn’t work because children do watch a lot of sport with their families, they do watch other family shows,” Dr Scamps said.

“It does need to be a blanket ban where there is a whole period where children are just not exposed to it at any time on TV.”

Teal MP for Goldstein Zoe Daniel said the report was more evidence that a ban on gambling advertising on television was needed.

“Sports fans hate it and will mark the government down if it does not act with all speed to rid our screens of this dangerous and damaging pollution,” she said.