Latest news with #gamblingreform
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Upper house pushing Labor on 'secret' gambling ads plan
The federal government is about to be forced to release a draft response to a landmark gambling reform report, which has been left untouched for more than two years. Communications Minister Anika Wells, who picked up the portfolio after Labor's May 3 election win, has flagged upcoming changes to gambling advertising. Her first meeting outside of department briefings was with Rod Glover, the husband of late Labor MP Peta Murphy, who championed a ban on gambling ads. A draft response by the communications department to the "you win some, you lose more" report handed down by a bipartisan parliamentary committee was prepared for the previous minister in November 2024. But the department refused to release the 32-page document under freedom of information laws. The Murphy report's key recommendation was to phase out gambling advertising on television and online, which received unanimous support from Labor, coalition and crossbench MPs on the committee. Labor's draft policy, which was never formally released but briefed to stakeholders in mid-2024, included banning betting ads during, before and after live sports broadcasts and limiting them to two an hour outside of that parameter. Independent senator David Pocock is pushing to have the draft recommendations and ministerial briefings released under a Senate order for the production of documents, after freedom of information requests were similarly rejected. The Liberals and the Greens have given their support, meaning his order is set to pass the Senate on Wednesday, giving Labor until the end of the month to comply or explain why they will continue to keep the documents secret. A third order requests correspondence between the prime minister and gambling sector representatives and lobbying efforts from sporting codes after he intervened to shelve any action before the election. Labor's inaction was "one of the biggest failures of the last parliament and a wrong I hope we can right this time", Senator Pocock told AAP. Reform advocates are keen to find a middle ground, arguing the longer the status quo goes on, the more people are being hurt as there are few restrictions on gambling advertising. While stakeholders are pushing for a blanket ban, there is an openness to compromise on restricting when betting ads can be broadcast on live TV. They're also pushing hard for a complete advertising ban on social media and on inducements, which is when gambling companies entice people to bet more by offering incentives such as bonus bets. But the gambling lobby is strongly against a blanket social media ban, instead saying technology could be used to avoid targeting children. The sector is similarly opposed to stopping inducements. There is a willingness to discuss stopping broad inducement advertising, but gambling companies want to retain the right to push advertising to people signed up to their platforms. The Murphy review recommended that the government immediately prohibit online gambling inducements and their advertising. Commercial broadcasters and sports codes argued they needed advertising revenue to stay viable, while gambling companies warned a blanket ban would push Australians into using illegal overseas wagering sites. The AFL and NRL receive tens of millions of dollars a year as a cut from gambling agencies. Some advocates are hopeful there will be an announcement on the next steps before the end of the year, with the federal government yet to respond to the landmark report 25 months after it was handed down. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What's gambling cost? Advocates slam political inaction
Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm. "Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Landmark poker machine reforms delayed by years, angering anti-gambling advocates
Landmark reforms to make poker machines safer for Victorian punters have been delayed by years by the Allan government, a decision that has infuriated colleagues and gambling reformers. Former premier Daniel Andrews made a shock policy announcement in 2023 to force all punters to preset how much they were willing to lose before playing the pokies — the scheme is often known as "carded play" or "mandatory precommitment". A bill to give the government the power to set up carded play was introduced to the parliament last November, with a trial to be held in 40 venues for three months beginning in the middle of this year. But that deadline has passed. Crown Casino was forced to implement carded play on its 2,400 pokies following the royal commission into its behaviour. As a result, pokies losses have decreased at the casino and it has been held up as a beacon of responsible gambling by some of the casino's once-fiercest critics, including Tim Costello. The legislation to set up a statewide scheme passed the lower house, but the government is yet to bring on a debate in the upper house, despite having the votes needed to pass the laws. The ABC understands that the government will debate the bill in the coming two weeks of parliament, under a plan that will defer the statewide scheme until well after the 2026 election. A trial will still need to be held to find the appropriate technology and to test the scheme. That decision is reflected in this week's state budget, with Treasury banking on pokies taxes continuing to flow to state coffers without interruption. Last year, the state collected $1.4 billion in pokies taxes — that is forecast to grow to $1.5 billion by 2028-29. Had the state planned to implement carded play, the tax take would have dropped. When the bill was first introduced late last year, a trial was slated to begin in May. On Wednesday, Premier Jacinta Allan said negotiations in the upper house were continuing. "We are committed to those reforms,'' Ms Allan said. The laws have the support of the Greens, Animal Justice Party and the Legalise Cannabis party, meaning they could pass the upper house without major negotiation. Reverand Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform has urged the premier to act, saying pokies are the most harmful form of gambling. "They are literally the crack cocaine of gambling,'' he said. "The cashless card at Crown pokies is working to prevent harm and Labor promised the public to trial and implement this card to all pub and Club and pub pokies. The Coalition is opposed to the scheme, citing concerns from the Australian Hotels Association. Greens MP Katherine Copsey said the party hoped Labor was not planning to capitulate to the pokies lobby. "That would be unconscionable by Labor. The Greens are ready to work with Labor to pass this pokies reform right now. We have the numbers in parliament, so what are Labor waiting for?" she said.
