Australian authorities are grappling with the issue of restricting gambling ads that are misleading to consumers. We delve into the increasing prominence of “degen” influencers, who are chasing the money, but at what cost - and who will apply the brakes?
Australia's gambling advertising quandary is no longer confined to traditional ads. A growing number of so-called “degen” influencers have built audiences around betting, casino content, and gambling culture, often making the promotion feel more like entertainment than advertising.
That creates a difficult problem for regulators. An influencer can post a video, livestream a betting session, mention a gambling bonus offer, or share a link with thousands of followers without the content necessarily looking like a conventional gambling ad.
With some influencers reportedly being offered tens of thousands for gambling promotions, regulators need to step in and enforce new rules.
Australian authorities are sitting up and taking note. The ACMA has warned influencers against promoting illegal gambling services, with MMA fighter Jamie Mullarkey becoming the first influencer to face ACMA enforcement action.
An investigation found that he had promoted an illegal offshore gambling service through sponsored Instagram posts, links and promotional hashtags in 2025.
Mullarkey avoided a financial penalty after promptly ending the sponsorship, removing the material, cooperating with the investigation, accepting responsibility, and expressing remorse. The ACMA instead issued a formal warning, but made it clear that other influencers could face significant penalties.
This action was ultimately intended to put social-media personalities and their “cohorts” on notice, so mission accomplished.
From January 2027, online platforms are also expected to offer users an opt-out mechanism and restrict gambling ads to logged-in adults.
Influencers promoting gambling outside of conventional ads could become one of the biggest tests of Australia's planned gambling advertising opt-out.
The government's proposal would allow Australians to register to stop receiving online casino advertisements, with platforms required to check the register regularly.
An influencer's post is different from an advert inserted into a social-media feed. If someone follows a “degen” influencer and that person posts a sports betting video, shares a gambling link or talks about a particular operator, simply removing targeted advertising may not remove the content.
That leaves a difficult question for regulators and social-media companies: where does advertising end and personal social-media content begin?
The proposed restrictions do address influencers, with the government saying gambling companies would be prohibited from entering sponsored-content arrangements with influencers, celebrities, and other notable people.
However, policing every organic post, livestream, repost, and shared link would be considerably more complicated than blocking conventional ads.
For Australia, the challenge will be stopping gambling promotion from slipping through the cracks of its new advertising rules via influencer-driven content of a dubious nature.
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