Every AFL and NRL club in Australia is now sponsored by alcohol companies, while every NRL club and five AFL clubs also have gambling sponsors, exposing millions of Australians – including children – to relentless advertising for products known to cause significant harm.
The findings, released today in a new report by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), reveal alcohol and gambling sponsorship has become deeply embedded across every level of Australia’s two biggest sporting codes.
The report, State of Play: Alcohol and Gambling Industry Influence in the AFL and NRL, found:
- Every AFL and NRL club has an alcohol sponsorship.
- Every NRL club and five AFL clubs have gambling sponsorships.
- All AFL and NRL television broadcast partnerships are sponsored by alcohol and gambling companies, with an increase in partnerships in 2026.
- Alcohol and gambling sponsorship is increasingly extending into AFLW and NRLW competitions.
FARE CEO Ayla Chorley said the report laid bare the extent to which the alcohol industry had embedded itself in one of Australia’s most cherished pastimes.
“Alcohol ads saturate every part of our experience of sport. It’s time to get alcohol industry influence out of sport – starting with the influx of ads on commercial TV broadcasts,” She said.
“This report underscores how we urgently need regulators like the Australian Media and Communications Authority to hear community concern and take action to reduce ads and put health and wellbeing first.
“Alcohol is a significant factor and amplifier of gender-based violence. When sport normalises heavy drinking alongside harmful ideas about masculinity and aggression, it reinforces the attitudes and conditions in which violence against women is more likely to occur.”
The report highlights that despite years of community concern and growing evidence of harm, alcohol and gambling advertising continues to saturate every aspect of the fan experience, giving harmful industries unparalleled access to children and young people through the sports they love.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation CEO Dr Erin Lalor AM said Australia could not ignore the role alcohol advertising played in shaping attitudes and behaviours.
“Despite the significant harms that alcohol causes to individuals, families and communities, the alcohol industry continues to use sport to promote their unhealthy products,” She said.
“Alcohol advertising plays a powerful role in shaping our drinking behaviours and related harms, including influencing children and young people’s perceptions and attitudes towards alcohol. That’s why it’s important to reduce children and young people’s exposure to alcohol advertising, especially in the activities they love, like sport.”
Commercial broadcasters – Channels Seven, Nine, Ten and WIN – have largely set their own rules for when they advertise alcohol.
This has allowed a loophole in the rules; while alcohol ads are typically restricted during most children’s viewing hours, alcohol can be advertised during sports broadcasts at any time on public holidays and weekends, exposing thousands of children.
ACMA are currently reviewing these rules, with a decision set to be handed down in the coming weeks.
Children and Media Australia President Professor Elizabeth Handsley said ACMA had an opportunity to prioritise children’s wellbeing.
“Every child has the right to watch sport without being exposed to alcohol ads. Closing the loophole is a step towards ensuring children and families can enjoy the games they love while avoiding harmful marketing,” she said.
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