TikTok Is Failing to Keep Its Own Rules Regarding Gambling Ads

By Todd Winkler,
Editor at online-gambling.com

Todd Winkler Editor at online-gambling.com

Todd Winkler is another one of our highly professional editors at online-gambling.com. The expert has been part of our team for 6 years, during which time he contributed articles regarding poker, blackjack, and DFS. Winkler is also knowledgeable about New Zealand's legal gambling market.

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Last updated: November 7, 2022

TikTok, a video-sharing company with Chinese roots, is not keeping its own rule in Australia. Gambling-related advertising is specifically prohibited by the company’s terms and conditions. But this has not stopped it from permitting Sportsbet to commence advertising via a pilot program.

TikTok acknowledged the trial when speaking to ABC News. However, it says it is just a “limited trial” that it is monitoring closely. The pilot is already raising controversy in Australia, which is presently looking at possible means to curb all forms of advertising related to gambling.

According to data from Oberlo, over 27% of TikTok users are under the age of 17, and 25% are under the age of 21. Given the present anti-gambling climate, it is unlikely that Sportsbet’s experimental program will become a permanent practice.

TikTok is certain that it can shield users under the age of 21 from gambling ads. However, there is no mandatory requirement for users to use their actual date of birth when creating a new account. Facebook also claimed that they would prevent targeted ads for minors, however, a Reset Australia report in 2021 found that this was not the case. Giving little hope that TikTok will prevent ads reaching underage users.

Sportsbet Contacts TikTok to Ask for Pilot Program

Sportsbet is said to have gotten in touch with TikTok to ask for the pilot program. Although the amount the sports betting company is paying is unknown, TikTok is unlikely to permit betting-related advertisements for no charge.

The ads don’t openly encourage betting. Instead, they conceal it within the content, making it appear just like a normal video. The Sportsbet name and the presence of the mandatory “Gamble Responsibly” tagline is the only hint that it is a promotion.

Recently, Australia approved the introduction of new taglines, and operators are already starting to introduce them. These taglines include messages like “What are you prepared to lose today? Set a deposit limit”. Such messages are likely going to fill the whole TikTok screen.

Calls for TikTok to be Banned

There are calls from some Australian lawmakers for the pilot project to be aborted and buried in the sand. They want all gambling advertising to be completely prohibited. The US wants to bury TikTok even deeper under the ground. Every few years, US lawmakers call for the streaming platform to be banned. The US midterm elections and this new campaign to ban TikTok happened simultaneously.

The fact that the Chinese firm ByteDance is responsible for TikTok is at the core of the issue. Despite having substantial support from companies like BlackRock and Sequoia Capital, the company sends all the data it collected previously back to its Chinese headquarters.

Following criticism that user data might go to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), TikTok relocated its servers to the US. It also said that none of the data could be accessed outside the network. According to some legislators, what TikTok said is not the complete truth.

A ban on TikTok has also been demanded by some representatives of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and Department of Justice (DOJ). This scenario doesn’t look likely to happen, but there will undoubtedly be changes.