All sides of politics backed ambitious gambling reforms. The government’s response is half-hearted at best

Former MP Peta Murphy, a Labor hero to many, died in December 2023 from cancer that recurred shortly after the 2019 federal election.

Despite this major illness, she actively and enthusiastically chaired a multi-party House Committee examining online wagering in Australia. The committee’s unanimous report was released in June 2023.

The Albanese government then sat on it for nearly three years before finally issuing its response yesterday.

Some reforms on advertising restrictions were announced by the government last month. The government’s full response was then tabled on budget day – a move many critics said was intended to “bury” it.

Indeed, the government has delivered a package that singularly fails to meet the standards Murphy and her colleagues sought. It is, at best, a minimal response.

What did Murphy call for?

The Murphy report contained 31 recommendations, the most contentious being a call for the prohibition of all advertising of online gambling. This included broadcast and social media.

Other recommendations sought to limit gambling harm, including:

• giving responsibility for online wagering to a single Australian government minister

• the appointment of a national online gambling regulator in place of the current, largely state-based regulatory arrangements

• banning inducements to gamble online (when gamblers are offered “free money” if they deposit funds into a betting account)

• starting international negotiations to target illegal offshore gambling operators

• developing best-practice systems to reduce harm from online wagering.

Altogether, the report was an ambitious reform agenda.

The report, however, was also met with a predictable storm of protest from the gambling “ecosystem”.

Bookmakers were not the only ones enraged. Broadcasters, sports leagues and others who profit from gambling revenue lobbied fiercely against it.

What the government agreed to

When the government announced its initial advertising reforms in April, it claimed it had the balance right. Minister for Sport Anika Wells said:

Our reforms will break the connection between wagering and sport, minimise children’s exposure to wagering advertising, and reduce its saturation across the internet, radio and TV channels.

These initiatives included bans on some forms of gambling advertising – in sports venues and on players’ uniforms. And the government imposed restrictions on others – broadcast television, radio and online platforms.

The Murphy committee’s call for a full ban on this kind of advertising has been at the centre of media interest on the issue. This is because there is now ample evidence that exposure to both online and broadcast advertising is a risk factor for young people in particular.

However, the government’s restrictions on advertising do not adequately address the real causes of gambling harm.

The government’s formal response this week reiterates its earlier announcements with some modest additional initiatives:

• the government will work with banks to block transactions between Australian bank accounts and unlicensed offshore providers

• the status of promotions lotteries (such as “rewards clubs”) will be clarified to bring consumer protection standards into line with other lottery products

• in line with banning the use of credit cards for online wagering (introduced in 2024), the minister will be empowered to make regulations about “emerging credit products” to expand this prohibition in future.

However, other important interventions were ignored. These include a recommendation to improve data collection to improve research and develop new and more effective gambling interventions.

The government also did not agree to appoint a national regulator. Nor was there any move to assume federal responsibility for online wagering. This is despite the overarching legislation covering online wagering being a federal law. This leaves the much-criticised Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission as the de facto national regulator because 52 bookmakers are licensed there for tax purposes.

In addition, inducements to gamble weren’t touched. These are at the centre of a current inquest in Victoria, investigating the suicide of a young man who had been offered 500 inducements over a four-year period.

A half-hearted approach, at best

The Murphy committee was united in its call for best practice to be applied to the prevention of gambling harm.

Its recommendations drew on 161 submissions from people and organisations representing all aspects of online wagering. These included gambling operators and their associates, people with lived experience, and many others with significant relevant expertise.

Many of those who made submissions also gave evidence over 13 days of hearings. The committee, comprised of members from both sides of politics, was unanimous in its response to this evidence. It concurred that online gambling needs much better regulation.

Instead, the government has only half-heartedly agreed to do more to protect Australians, citing concern for young people.

As a result, Australia’s gambling epidemic will continue largely unchecked. And, sadly, young people will continue to form the epicentre of this preventable disaster.