State of Origin 2026 kicks off this morning for UK viewers, but it could be the last series before sweeping changes and reforms to advertising and sponsorships.
The New South Wales Blues take on the Queensland Maroons in the 45th renewal of the annual best-of-three series, with game one kicking off at Accor Stadium in Sydney at 8:05pm local time (11:05am UK time).
Many are once again discussing the top State of Origin matchups – Tedesco vs Ponga, Cleary vs Walker, Robson vs Grant – but a wider ongoing discussion has been at the centre of debate in Australia in recent months: gambling reform advocates vs the gambling industry.
Last month, PM Anthony Albanese stated that the Labor government will look to implement “strong and decisive actions” to stem the proliferation of gambling advertising.
The proposed widespread 2027 changes
From 1 January 2027, the Australian government will implement these five measures:
- Broadcast TV limits: Maximum of three gambling ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm
- Live sport blackout: Full ban on gambling ads during live sports broadcasts within those hours
- Radio watershed: Ban on gambling ads during school commute times (8-9am and 3-4pm)
- Digital controls: Online ads restricted to logged-in, age-verified (18+) users, with mandatory opt-out options
- Sporting environment bans: Removal of gambling ads from stadiums and from players’ and officials’ uniforms
While the high-stakes action is certain to continue in the future, which companies will be associated with the State of Origin post-2026 is up in the air.
For example, Sportsbet, listed as a “headline sponsor” for this year’s State of Origin series as well as a major National Rugby League (NRL) partner, may be forced into submission.
Gambling advertising has long been a point of contention in Australia, and, three years ago, the late Peta Murphy MP submitted her parliamentary inquiry into gambling harms and federal interventions, titled “You win some, you lose more”.
This, now coined as the “Murphy report”, has only recently been officially addressed by the government, which said it has already advanced some of Murphy’s proposed reforms with the introduction of a nationwide ban on the use of credit cards, digital wallets linked to credit products and cryptocurrencies for online and land-based wagering transactions, which came into force in June 2024.
Mandatory warning taglines were introduced in 2023, national self-exclusion register BetStop was launched the same year, and measures to classify lootboxes and other ‘gambling-like’ content in video games were introduced.
Pressure has mounted around the government’s timeliness, however. Many questions have been raised about how long it has taken the government to address and implement measures suggested in the report to curb the widespread escalation of the gambling industry.
However, the measures due to come in at the start of next year may be the most impactful yet. While measures were introduced to prohibit gambling advertisements during live sports broadcasts before 8:30pm in Australia, many have long called for further reforms, including senator David Pocock.
He said back in 2025: “Almost 80% of Australians have had an absolute gutful of turning on the TV to watch sport with their kids and seeing a torrent of ads with people dressed up as commentators and experts giving this overview of the odds.
“That is not what the sport is for. Then you’re going online and seeing it in social media feeds, you’re hearing it in podcasts.
“Gambling ads have totally saturated Australia. In a country that is the per capita biggest loser in the world, we should obviously be obsessing over actually taking action and treating this like the public health issue that it is.”
That saturation is clear to see in the statistics. According to Nielsen Ad Intel, the gambling and gaming industry in Australia spent an estimated AU$187.75m on advertising in 2024.
While this was a decrease from $239m the previous year, these figures did not include in-stadium advertising or sponsorship deals. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) also found that, in the year ending 30 April 2023, most gambling advertising expenditure was concentrated in free-to-air television markets, which accounted for 68% of total spend.
During the same period, more than an eye-watering one million gambling advertisements were estimated to have aired across free-to-air television and metropolitan radio, with half of all advertising spots promoting online gambling services.
Even with the government’s advertising crackdown ambitions clear, criticism still remains. Pocock, for example, has described proposals around sponsorship of sports podcasts as “bonkers” and “totally unworkable”.
Over three million State of Origin viewers could be less exposed
Gambling advertisements will be no doubt plastered over Australian broadcasts of State of Origin from half time onwards, but reforms look to be coming.
The State of Origin sponsorship makeup will almost certainly have to change from 2027, as will the sponsorship partners for clubs in the NRL, as well as brands displayed on stadium advertising boards and on television adverts.
And yes, this may put a dent into the revenues of operators, clubs and broadcasters alike, but it will be welcome news for those who have tirelessly pushed for gambling reform in the country.
State of Origin tests regularly rack up over three million viewers across Australia – meaning that, from State of Origin 2027, there could well be three million less Australians exposed to gambling advertisements at a time when they may be more tempted to place a bet.
While this change next year may seem insignificant in the moment compared to the highly-anticipated events that will take place on the field during State of Origin, it will certainly signal a step forward from Australian authorities in their bid to curb gambling harms.