Australia’s gambling giants spent $240,000 on Facebook ads for US election bets

Guessing the colour of Trump’s tie among bets promoted by TAB, Ladbrokes, Sportsbet and Neds in the week leading up to the election

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Australia’s big online gambling operators poured at least $240,000 into Facebook ads promoting novelty bets on the US election last week, including whether Donald Trump’s speech would mention fraud or what colour his tie would be, just weeks before the government is expected to announce its long-awaited plans to restrict wagering ads.

Between 31 October and 6 November – the day of the US election in Australia – TAB, Ladbrokes, Sportsbet and Neds were the top four Facebook advertisers in the country on Meta’s ad library tool, spending a combined $229,789 on politics-related ads.

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