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About Unicorn Evolution: Idle Catch
Committee Chair Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede highlighted that, since 2020, the growth of online marketing techniques and associated harms have shifted the debate substantially.
“The time was right to reassess this crucial policy area, focusing on the topic of gambling advertising where the former committee’s strong recommendations have been largely unaddressed and where substantial developments in the gambling advertising landscape since 2020 have demanded a re-evaluation of the policy options,” he said.
The committee has advocated for applying a public health framework to gambling advertising regulation. It criticised the existing patchwork of self-regulation, noting the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes, co-regulation for broadcasts and industry-led voluntary measures, were inadequate.
What is Unicorn Evolution: Idle Catch?
White Hat Gaming paused the ads during the investigation and argued that HLTV’s audience is primarily adult and focused on professional competitive gaming rather than casual play, which tends to attract minors.
HLTV corroborated this, highlighting its editorial tone as adult-oriented.
The ASA reviewed whether the ads were directed at under-18s through their placement or content. Its rules prohibit advertising through media where more than 25% of the audience is likely to be under 18.
What is Unicorn Evolution: Idle Catch?
As well as a statewide exclusion register, the package also set out to reduce the number of poker machines from the current figure of 87,000 across 2,100 clubs and hotels.
The government said it aims to achieve this by increasing the forfeiture rate when gaming machine entitlements are traded from one in three to one in two.
The NSW government initiated its first formal review of ClubGRANTS in over a decade after taking office in 2023. Although the final report was submitted in January 2025, it has yet to be released publicly.
