Sunita SomvanshiThe Australian government unveiled last-minute amendments to its gambling reform bill on Monday, hours before a Senate committee delivered a scathing assessment. The committee called the package “too little, too late.”
Independent Senator David Pocock said the reforms are “not an evidence-led public health response to a public health issue.” He said they leave gambling advertising embedded in sport, shift responsibility onto parents, and preserve a system that has made Australians the biggest gambling losers in the world per capita.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young called inducements “a toxic practice that prey on those who can least afford to gamble.” She said they must be outlawed.
The government’s amendments restrict inducements such as sign-up bonuses and deposit matches. They cap commissions for affiliate marketing agents. The government also pledged an opt-out register for gambling ads, similar to the Do Not Call register for spam calls. A levy on gambling companies would fund it, Communications Minister Anika Wells told parliament.
Australians lose roughly $25 billion a year on gambling. That is more than $1,200 per adult — the highest per-capita loss globally, as Productivity Commission and Australian Gambling Research Centre data indicate.
Problem gambling affects about 1.4 percent of adults at moderate or severe levels. Another 7 percent are at risk. Rates are higher in lower-income, Indigenous, and culturally diverse communities, and among young men aged 18 to 34.
The late Labor MP Peta Murphy led a 2023 inquiry that produced 31 recommendations. Many remain unimplemented. Key gaps include universal pre-commitment, mandatory carded play, an advertising phase-out timeline, and an independent regulator.
The Coalition criticised the government’s response to the Murphy report, tabled on budget day in May 2026, as a “cynical exercise in media management.” The Coalition has not yet committed to supporting the amended bill.
States collect roughly $6 to $7 billion combined in gambling tax revenue each year. This creates a conflict of interest, advocates say.
The gambling industry spends over $300 million a year on advertising in Australia. Sports betting dominates ad spend. Poker machines generate about $15 billion in annual losses. Sports betting accounts for about $5 billion.
International models differ. The UK banned credit card gambling in 2019. Belgium and the Netherlands have near-total advertising bans. Sweden requires deposit limits and affordability checks. Norway operates a state monopoly.
The opt-out register faces technical challenges. Cross-platform identity verification and real-time ad delivery systems complicate enforcement. Affiliate marketing operates on cost-per-acquisition and revenue-share models that can skirt regulation.
A similar opt-out register approach was pledged by the Australian government for gambling ads, imposing a levy on operators.
The amendments are expected to be debated this week. Passage through both houses by the end of the sitting week is possible but not guaranteed.
