The gambling industry in Australia spends significant amounts on advertising and lobbying efforts to influence policy and maintain its presence across various media. Between May 2022 and April 2023, gambling companies spent $238.6 million on free-to-air television, metro radio, and online advertising, with 64% of this coming from online gambling providers. In 2022 alone, the total advertising spend by the gambling sector across all media platforms was $300.5 million, marking a sharp rise from $53 million in 2007.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/08/06/gambling-advertising-australia-key-numbers/
https://grattan.edu.au/report/a-better-bet-how-australia-should-prevent-gambling-harm/

Lobbying has also been a key tactic, with the industry utilizing methods honed by other controversial sectors, such as tobacco. Political donations and public relations campaigns are common, aimed at framing gambling harm as a matter of personal responsibility and freedoms rather than an issue deserving systemic regulation. This is the same tactic used by big tobacco to first promote their product, then deflect the harm done by it.

Wikipedia - Torches of Freedom
The torches of freedom advertising campaign in the US equated smoking with freedom and equality with men (for women, as smoking was seen as a habit that was innapropriate for women at the time)

And this is not something that was relegated to the early 1900s either: "In the 1990s, tobacco companies continued to advertise cigarettes as "torches of freedom" as they sought to expand their markets around the world. Such brands as Virginia Slims continued to put forward the idea of modernity and freedom in new markets. The use of this imagery when advertising the cigarette has been specifically targeted at women in countries where women are gaining more equality and liberation."


'This is a free country, why should the government get involved?' would be the position of tobacco and gambling industries, and any other company selling a product known to be harmful. Somehow this argument holds up for a corporation in exactly the way it would not for a drug dealer.

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The financial ties between gambling entities and major broadcasters, sports organizations, and policymakers create additional challenges. For example, gambling partnerships with sports leagues, like the AFL's reported $30–$40 million annual deal with Sportsbet, highlight how deeply integrated gambling is into Australian culture.

Efforts to ban or restrict gambling advertising face resistance due to these entrenched financial relationships, despite public concern and increasing evidence of gambling harm. Public opinion heavily favors restrictions, with 70% supporting limits on gambling ads.

The exact amount spent specifically on lobbying efforts remains less transparent, but the industry's overall expenditure indicates its prioritization of political influence and public perception management. The incestuous relationship between business, media, and politics in this country is bound to make progess slow or impossible as usual.