Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced new gambling reforms, including the ability for social media users to opt-out of gambling advertising.
Limits on the number of television and radio ads will apply, as well as a ban in sports venues and on merchandise.
Albanese said the reforms will make sure “children don’t see betting ads everywhere they look.”
Alliance for Gambling Reform Chief Advocate Tim Costello said the changes “fall short”.
Background
In June 2023, a parliamentary committee released the final report from its inquiry into the impacts of online gambling. The committee was chaired by Labor MP Peta Murphy.
It recommended the Government completely ban ads for online gambling, create a new gambling warning label, and introduce identity verification for online gambling.
The Government is yet to respond to the report’s recommendations.
Murphy died in December 2023.
Reforms
During an address to the National Press Club on Thursday, Albanese announced gambling advertising reform, including:
- No more than three ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm on TV
- a complete ban on gambling ads during live sport broadcasts from 6am to 8.30pm
- No gambling ads on the radio during school drop off and pick up times (8-9am and 3-4pm)
- No more celebrity endorsements of gambling platforms, including sport players
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- A ban on gambling ads on sport players and officials’ uniforms, and at sporting venues
- No gambling ads on online platforms, unless they are only accessible by people over 18, with an account, who can opt-out of seeing them
Comments
Murphy’s widower, Rod Glover, responded to the reform’s introduction in a LinkedIn post, saying she would be “very proud of today’s progress.”
“The outcome achieved today is not perfect, but policy rarely is,” he said.
“This package represents a significant step forward on an issue the community cares deeply about, and I hope it is supported by all those in Parliament and beyond.”
Opposition
Alliance for Gambling Reform Chief Advocate Tim Costello said the reforms “fall short” of the inquiry’s recommendations.
“The onus [of protecting children] should be squarely on gambling companies and the platforms,” he said.
On the limit of three ads per hour from 6am to 8.30pm, Costello said: “Imagine three cigarette ads per hour.”
What’s next?
The Government will introduce a bill with the reforms, and is aiming to have them come into effect from 1 January 2027.
Albanese confirmed the Government will table its response to Murphy’s committee’s report “on the first day that Parliament returns”.
He noted: “The Government decides positions, not committees.”
