Government response draws fire from both sides
More than 1,000 days after a landmark parliamentary inquiry into the harms of gambling called for urgent reform, the Albanian government has responded by announcing a scaled-back package that has drawn fire from both anti-gambling campaigners and the betting industry.
The long awaited answer You win some, you lose more While the report, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy and published in June 2023, was tabled in parliament on Tuesday, the majority of Canberra’s political journalists were locked out for several hours under a budget day embargo.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government’s approach to the issue, saying the government was trying to strike a balance between protecting children from gambling advertising and protecting adults’ freedom to bet.
But the government fell far short of adopting all the recommendations of the inquiry; Instead, he relied on measures already signaled last month and handed significant responsibility to the states in an eight-page response.
“The Government takes note of the 31 recommendations made by the Committee,” the response said. “A number of recommendations made by the committee relate to policies that are the responsibility of the states and territories. The Australian government urges the states and territories to review the committee’s recommendations and respond accordingly.”
The package includes an opt-in model for online gambling advertising, tighter limits on radio advertising during school pick-up hours, a ban on celebrities and sports stars in betting promotions and restrictions on gambling branding in stadiums and on player uniforms.
Despite the changes, betting firms will be allowed to run up to three gambling ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, with no upper limit overnight.
Anti-gambling advocates said the response fell short of the scale of harm identified by the inquiry and warned that children would continue to be exposed through digital platforms and gaming environments.
Martin Thomas, chief executive of the Gambling Reform Alliance, said the reforms would not stop children being targeted online, pointing to the growing reach of betting content on social media and gaming apps.
“Evidence shows that underage children as young as 14 are being targeted via social media to download gambling apps, betting ads appear in children’s games, and increasingly popular online games contain gambling-type functions,” he said.
Long-time anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello described the package as “timid” and criticized the reliance on the buy-in system for ad exposure.
Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said the government’s decision to hide its response to the Murphy report on budget day showed “disdain for the thousands of Australian families torn apart by gambling addiction”.
“After spending more than 1,000 days delaying, denying and deflecting, the response appears to be government speeches full of distortion and bluster,” he said.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said the government had effectively abandoned the unanimous recommendations of the Murphy inquiry and accused the inquiry of prioritizing the interests of gambling companies, media outlets and major sporting codes including the Australian Football League and National Rugby League.
“The Murphy report was prepared between the parties and was unanimous,” he said, arguing that the findings required full implementation rather than partial acceptance.
Wilkie said the backlash was “disgraceful behaviour” and called for a national regulator and a complete ban on the ads.
The betting industry has also attacked the package, saying it was developed without proper consultation.
Responsible Betting Australia chief executive Kai Cantwell warned last month that some of the measures would divert punters to unregulated offshore operators, undermining local jobs and the funding of sport and racing while stripping away consumer protections.
“Australians will not stop gambling if the licensed market is overregulated. They will turn to offshore operators,” he said.
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Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
