PM ‘not against’ a punt as he defends gambling reforms
The Prime Minister fended off criticism that his proposed online gambling laws were inadequately drafted and said the reforms went beyond recommendations made in a report calling for a complete ban on advertising.
The law, introduced to parliament on Thursday, limits gambling advertising on television to no more than three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, and bans it entirely from live sports events during those hours.
Athletes and social media influencers will also be banned from promoting gambling, while advertisements in stadiums and on athletes’ jerseys will be removed.
But the government has come under fire for not implementing a complete ban on advertising, as former Labor MP Peta Murphy suggested in a report submitted in 2023.
Anthony Albanese said the reforms being introduced went beyond his former colleague’s recommendations.
“It actually goes further than that report in some respects,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.
“As with other areas of our lives, it deals with topics that are expanding significantly, especially online.
“(It) also deals with overseas gambling. There’s little point in shutting down sites in Australia and leaving everything open overseas.”
Mr Albanese said the laws struck the right balance.
“I’m not against someone gambling on a Saturday. What I’m against is problem gambling, which by the way, the vast majority of it is poker machines, and of course it’s regulated by the states,” he said.
“What we did was consult for a certain period of time.”
But opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said the proposed reforms did not go far enough.
“This bill is undercooked… We have a lot of work to do to challenge the bill. I have concerns that it is not strong enough and I have some concerns,” he told ABC Radio.
“The coalition is very serious about tackling the terrible harm that gambling addiction is doing to so many Australian families.”
The opposition and crossbench have met to send the legislation to be examined by an inquiry, which is due to report on 17 August.
Independent Senator David Pocock said it was tragic that the bill did not implement a full ban.
“How come a Labor-chaired committee gives such strong recommendations and then the prime minister caves to the gambling lobby, promotes weak legislation and now the Liberal Party says it’s not strong enough,” he told ABC Radio.
“The Prime Minister is happy that children see three gambling ads an hour during the day. We do not allow three cigarette ads an hour.”
The ACT senator called for reform to be supported by introducing a national regulator and banning incentives such as bonus betting.
“They are the most damaging part of the gambling advertising strategy,” he said.
“I will not be part of a parliament that allows a prime minister to serve the gambling lobby at the expense of our children.”
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