Labor expected to drop proposal for online gambling ad ban

“Ensuring Australia’s onshore market stays competitive is essential, because if people can’t find the products or prices they want here, they don’t stop gambling, they just go offshore,” he said. With 14 per cent of bets on racing placed through illegal overseas operators, the annual impact on industry funding, given none of these bodies pay specific race field fees or point-of-consumption tax, is between $110 million and $135 million. Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said Australia has failed to protect children and young people from gambling harm. Governments should call out the industry’s self-interest, and not be tempted to ‘buy off’ vested interests (Box 7). Gambling licences are a privilege granted by governments – they are not a right – and they do not override government responsibility to legislate in the best interests of the Australian people. Recent Royal Commissions, reviews of Australian casinos, and the NSW Crime Commission’s inquiry into money laundering through pokies have collectively sparked outrage around the country.

2.4 The risk from legal gambling is bigger than the risk from illegal gambling

Most prominently, the federal government has taken more than 14 months to respond to the Murphy Inquiry into online gambling, which handed down 31 recommendations in 2023 with multi-partisan backing. The delayed response has left big gaps in consumer protection, and demonstrates once again how politically challenging it is to achieve good policy in this space. There is a risk that some people in the grip of gambling addiction seek out unlicensed websites in a deliberate attempt to circumvent loss limits. But, under current regulations, legal websites are not much safer than illegal ones for heavy gamblers. Many legal gambling operators do not have effective safeguards in place to prevent harm (Chapter 2).

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Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek was equally terse on morning radio, accusing the host of being “obsessed about the gambling advertising” when asked about a lack of action and the link between gambling harm and domestic violence. It has also said it wanted to keep online advertising, including on social media and streaming services, but it would only be to logged-in, age-verified accounts so it doesn’t target kids, and there would be an opt-out mechanism. Even the gambling lobby has expressed frustrations about the lack of certainty over reforms, floating their own compromises on advertising limits and restrictions. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek was equally terse on morning radio, accusing the host of being “obsessed about the gambling advertising” when asked about a lack of action and the link between gambling harm and domestic violence.

• The loan is only cancelled once the funds have been received and have cleared into the Jacaranda Finance bank account.
• The average number of products gambled on was two, but around one-quarter (23%) of respondents reported gambling on six or more different products.
• Customers that complete an application or provide requested supporting information after 3pm AEST (or outside of business day working hours) will receive an outcome the following business day.
• We acknowledge the Ancestors, Elders and families of the Kulin Nation (Melbourne campuses), the Eora Nation (Sydney campus) and the Yugara/YUgarapul and Turrbal Nation (Brisbane campus) who are the traditional owners of University land.

Federal rules around lobbying and political donations are weak,180 enabling those with motivation and resources to have more say – and sway – over public policy than they should. This recent history makes Tasmania’s current pokies reforms all the more remarkable (see Box 6 in Chapter 3). Most venue-based consumer protections rely on individual staff to track gambling risk and know when and how to step in – a difficult task which staff have little incentive to undertake. Gambling is considered a heavily regulated industry in Australia, but current regulations are not particularly effective in reducing harm, let alone preventing it. Chapter 4 explores how governments can ensure reforms stick, by standing up to the vested interests, rebutting their self-interested claims, and coordinating reform efforts across jurisdictions.

Loot boxes, in particular, are a common gambling-like feature in electronic games and have been linked to gambling problems (see Box 4). Governments have a responsibility to act in the public interest, even when it is politically challenging.

Showed how effective the gambling industry is in influencing Australian politics, punching well above its weight. Organised attempts to influence policy can create windfall gains for a few, at the expense of the many. The individualistic approach is promoted by the gambling industry.105 Blaming problems on a small group of ‘aberrant’ individuals absolves the industry of responsibility, and diminishes the case for stronger action by governments. In other countries, high-impact, high-loss ‘Australian-style’ machines are typically confined https://campbellsstoremorpeth.com/ to casinos.11 But in Australia, they are pockmarked across our suburbs and towns, increasing the risk of harm.

This will go a long way to preventing harm from the two most risky and widespread forms of gambling. And disquiet about the proliferation of online gambling harm triggered the 2023 Murphy Inquiry, which made 31 recommendations supported by multi-partisan consensus – a rare feat. The federal government has taken more than 14 months to respond to the inquiry, but leaks last month on the potential response231 sparked protracted debate in the media, parliament, and Labor’s own caucus – showing how widespread the public support for reform is. Mr Costello said the federal government has not implemented any of the recommendations of the landmark 2023 Murphy Report into gambling harm, which included recommendations for a national gambling regulator and a ban on online gambling ads. In parallel to the reforms above, the federal government should investigate the feasibility of a single system for mandatory pre-commitment across all gambling environments. Rather than setting separate limits for pokies, online betting, and other forms of gambling, the ideal would be a single limit across all forms of gambling.

Pre-commitment for pokies would be a small, one-off hassle – like signing up for a library card or public transport card.255 For online gamblers, who must already prove their identity to create an account,256 it should add little to the sign-up process. Taking action across all jurisdictions is likely to be the most effective way to stand up to the vested interests. It makes it harder for the industry to go after individual politicians, parties, or governments, as it has done in the past (see Chapter 2). Cashless gaming is currently a major focus for NSW, and is an important part of tackling money laundering via pokies,211 but is not an essential pre-cursor for mandatory pre-commitment. Pokies venues would need to ensure that people can only gamble on pokies using their registered card, as per the Tasmanian model.