Everyone in Australia – especially children and young people – should be able to watch and follow sports free from alcohol and gambling advertising. For years, the community has been calling for this change.
Despite this, alcohol and gambling companies continue to saturate the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) with advertising of their harmful products, through a myriad of sponsorship deals across the two leagues.
This report investigated current AFL and NRL alcohol and gambling sponsorships. The analysis found that, as of the end of May 2026, every AFL and NRL team – and organising bodies – have sponsorships deals with alcohol companies. The alcohol and gambling industries use the reach and influence of the leagues to gain extensive advertising exposure.
This gives harmful industries access to millions of Australians, including through direct sponsorship of the leagues, partnerships with AFL and NRL TV broadcasters, and sponsorship of clubs. The leagues also receive substantial income from gambling on their games, and several AFL and NRL clubs make multimillion-dollars from people’s losses from poker machines each year.
Evidence shows exposure to alcohol advertising leads to increased levels of harm. Children and teenagers exposed to these ads are more likely to drink earlier and at high-risk levels later in life.
The proliferation of this advertising in sport also reinforces a harmful association between alcohol and sport. Sport has enormous power to shape culture, when harmful ideas about masculinity, alcohol and aggression are reinforced through that influence, violence becomes easier to excuse, dismiss and perpetuate.
Summary of findings
All AFL and NRL clubs are sponsored by alcohol companies
As part of AFL alcohol sponsorship deals in 2025 and 2026, all AFL clubs advertise alcohol brands at stadiums during matches, and all AFL clubs promote alcohol brands through their digital channels.
Two AFL clubs, Brisbane Lions and St Kilda, had alcohol branding on playing or official uniforms in 2025, but this was discontinued for both clubs in 2026.
As part of the NRL alcohol sponsorship deals in both seasons:
- Five NRL clubs have alcohol branding on their playing or official uniforms (Brisbane Broncos, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Dolphins, Newcastle Knights and North Queensland Cowboys),
- One club’s alcohol sponsorship involves home stadium naming rights (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles’ 4 Pines Park).
- At least 12 NRL clubs advertise alcohol sponsors at stadiums during games.
- All NRL clubs promote alcohol brands through their digital channels.
All NRL clubs, and five AFL clubs, are sponsored by gambling companies
All NRL clubs are sponsored by gambling companies, including sports gambling and lottery brands, casinos and poker machine clubs, under deals in place in 2025 and 2026.
- In 2025, six NRL clubs had gambling branding on official uniforms and at least nine had gambling advertising in stadiums or during matches.
- In 2026, the number of NRL clubs with gambling branding on official uniforms increased to seven, and the number with gambling stadium advertising or in-match promotions increased to ten.
Five AFL clubs – Brisbane Lions, Fremantle, Gold Coast Suns, Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants and West Coast Eagles – had sponsorship deals with gambling brands, including sports gambling companies and casinos, in 2025. These remained in place in 2026. However, GWS Giants’ gambling sponsor changed from TAB to Unibet.
Many AFLW and NRLW teams have alcohol and gambling sponsors, providing new avenues for the companies to target young women
Many alcohol sponsorships of AFL clubs and NRL clubs extended to sponsorship of their AFLW and NRLW teams in 2025 and will continue to do so in 2026. In addition, several AFLW teams have their own alcohol sponsors, which are not club level sponsorships.
- In 2025, at least ten AFLW teams and at least three NRLW teams had alcohol sponsorships.
- For the 2026 NRLW and AFLW seasons, commencing in July and August 2026 (respectively), there are nine confirmed alcohol sponsorships for AFLW teams and four for the NRLW.
- Two AFLW clubs had gambling sponsors in 2025, and this will increase to at least three in 2026.
- At least six NRLW teams had gambling sponsors in 2025, and this will increase to seven in 2026.
The AFL and NRL leagues are sponsored extensively by alcohol and gambling companies, and make money from every bet placed on their games
- The AFL has sponsorship partnerships with five alcohol brands, while the NRL is sponsored by two alcohol brands. These sponsorships were in place in both 2025 and 2026.
- SportsBet is a major sponsor of both the AFL and the NRL under deals reportedly worth about $10 million per year to the NRL and $8 to $10 million per year to the AFL, which have continued throughout 2025 and 2026.
- These deals involve widespread advertising of alcohol and gambling companies and brands, including match naming rights, TV and stadium advertising, digital advertising, and first access to advertising during AFL and NRL match broadcasts.
- The AFL and the NRL also make money from every bet placed on their games under deals with sports betting companies (such as SportsBet, Tabcorp, betr, Ladbrokes, neds, dabble, Bet365, Unibet and Picklebet) – reported to amount to $50 million per year for the NRL and $30 to $40 million per year for the AFL.
NRL and NRLW State of Origin teams are sponsored by several alcohol companies, with multi-channel alcohol advertising throughout State of Origin series
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the Queensland Rugby League (QRL), and their State of Origin teams the New South Wales (NSW) Blues and Queensland Maroons, also have multiple alcohol sponsorships, providing alcohol companies with multi-channel alcohol advertising throughout the 2025 State of Origin series, and in the first game of the 2026 series.
AFL alcohol and gambling sponsors were promoted through the 2026 AFL State of Origin
The AFL’s 2026 State of Origin match and teams did not have specific alcohol or gambling sponsors. However, AFL league alcohol and gambling sponsors were advertised during and in association with the match.
A small number of parent corporations are behind more than 50% of AFL and NRL alcohol and gambling sponsorship deals
Across the AFL and NRL leagues, TV broadcasting partnerships, State of Origin teams, and AFL and NRL clubs, in both 2025 and 2026:
- Five alcohol parent companies are responsible for at least 50% of alcohol brand sponsorship deals
- Five parent companies (four gambling and one private equity) are behind more than 50% of gambling sponsorship deals.
All AFL and NRL TV broadcasting partnerships are sponsored by alcohol and gambling companies
- From 2025 to 2026 the number of alcohol sponsors of AFL and NRL free-to-air TV broadcasting partnerships has increased through new deals with Seven and Nine. These new deals will increase the volume of alcohol advertising during NRL and AFL matches on free-to-air TV in 2026.
- Throughout 2025 and 2026, SportsBet has sponsored all TV broadcasting of both leagues: AFL broadcasting by the Seven Network (including streaming platform 7plus) and Foxtel (including Kayo); and NRL broadcasting by Nine (including 9Now) and Foxtel (including Kayo).
- AFL and NRL broadcasts have been sponsored by the alcohol industry in both seasons.
- In 2025, Seven’s AFL coverage was sponsored by alcohol retailer BWS and Lion (owner of alcohol brands including XXXX, Tooheys, Carlton Draught and Hard Rated). Seven added two more alcohol sponsors of its AFL coverage in 2026: Jim Beam and Asahi Beverages.
- Nine’s 2025 NRL broadcasting partnership did not have any alcohol sponsors in 2025, but Jim Beam and Lion are new sponsors in 2026.
- Foxtel’s AFL coverage was sponsored by Lion and Jameson Irish Whiskey in 2025, but only Jameson Irish Whiskey’s sponsorship continued in 2026. Foxtel’s 2025 NRL coverage was sponsored by Victoria Bitter (VB), Jim Beam and Lion, but these sponsorships did not continue in 2026.
