Gambling ad ‘double standard’ as PM touts child safety Yahoo News Australia

Once a national pre-commitment system for online gambling is well established, it may be possible to extend the system to cover other forms of gambling too. Limiting the sheer number of venues where pokies are present is more important than simply limiting the number of machines. While a destination model such as Western Australia’s is a long way off for the rest of the country,193 state governments should actively reduce the number of machines and venues. State governments regulate casinos, pokies, the racing industry, and other land-based gambling, with different rules in different states. Many past attempts to strengthen consumer protections for gambling have been thwarted by vested interests, so gambling reform is now considered very politically risky. The individualistic approach is promoted by the gambling industry.105 Blaming problems on a small group of ‘aberrant’ individuals absolves the industry of responsibility, and diminishes the case for stronger action by governments.

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In Australia, gambling is a socially accepted behaviour, actively encouraged through more than $287 million dollars of advertising spending per year, and a source of more than seven billion dollars of revenue per year for governments. Gambling revenue for sporting bodies is also significant although exact figures are hard to obtain. Culturally, gambling behaviours are celebrated, ritualised, and even mythologised. The statement said the government had also established mandatory ID checks for online bets, banning the use of credit cards for online betting and introducing tag lines for gambling advertisements. The federal government should assemble a National Taskforce and consider financial and other incentives to bring everyone to the table.

Other forms of gambling can undoubtedly be harmful, but are either lower risk113 or less common,114 so receive less attention in this report. Until the 1990s.40 Even today, only a small number of countries allow high-intensity pokies outside of dedicated gambling venues (such as casinos).41 However, in Australia, only WA limits access to gaming machines in this way. That would go a long way to reducing Australians’ excessive exposure to gambling. Pokies and online betting are particularly addictive and harmful, leading to serious harm for hundreds of thousands of Australians. Ms Plibersek on Tuesday announced more funding for a domestic violence hotline but was asked about frustrations regarding the government failing to reply to 31 recommendations from a landmark gambling harm inquiry two years later.

• Mandatory pre-commitment for pokies should be a priority given that pokies are a particularly harmful form of gambling (see Chapter 1).
• This involves the adoption of the attitudes, values, and behaviours of those around us.
• Gambling is also linked to domestic and family violence.83 Financial and emotional stress – particularly men’s anger or shame – from gambling can heighten the risk of violence.84 And some people use gambling as a form of escape from violence, compounding the harm.
• Gambling advertising exposes large numbers of Australians, including children, to a dangerous product,186 and increases losses, with little corresponding economic or social benefit.187 Yet gambling ads are everywhere, implicitly sanctioned by our weak regulations.

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When Parliament returns on Monday, the Senate will debate and vote on Senator Hanson-Young’s referral of gambling advertising to the Senate’s Environment and Communications Reference Committee. The independent regulator of Victoria’s gambling industry – ensuring integrity, safety and fairness for all. If you have lived experience of gambling harm or are an affected other, visit our Voices page. Over the past 3 years I’ve spoken to many people who have experienced a family member in a very similar situation as my brothers, losing their life savings and living in a delusional world where they believe they “didn’t have a problem with gambling”. Very sadly the only time many family members become aware about the true extent of the problem is when it is too late to be of any assistance. Please share how gambling advertisements have affected your community and why the government must act now to protect Australians from their harm.

For example, the federal government could take full responsibility for regulating online betting, while still enabling states to collect online betting revenue through their point-of-consumption taxes. Regulators should be wary that setting limits on how much people can lose while gambling creates an incentive for the industry to more aggressively try to increase its customer base. This makes the ban on all gambling advertising and inducements (Section 3.1.1) all the more important. Mandatory pre-commitment with upper limits on losses could provide that safety net (see Chapter 3). Showed how effective the gambling industry is in influencing Australian politics, punching well above its weight. Organised attempts to influence policy can create windfall gains for a few, at the expense of the many.

Anger is bubbling at the perceived hypocrisy of teenagers being banned from social media to reduce harm, but still being able to be targeted by gambling ads. “An analysis of offshore websites and H2 survey data shows the vast majority of players on illegal offshore sites have not been offered a safer gambling tool or observed safer gambling messages,” the report said. In a statement, a government spokesperson said the Albanese government had undertaken significant gambling harm reduction measures, including launching the self-exclusion register BetStop. Lotteries were the most common form of gambling, followed by instant scratch tickets, poker machines, racing and sports betting.

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Over the past year, our Voices have campaigned for gambling reform by sharing their stories in the media, speaking to federal and state politicians, as well as providing evidence at government inquiries and hearings. One in five bettors accessing overseas sites were looking to access live in-play online betting, which is illegal in Australia, while 48 per cent went looking for better offers and 44 per cent better promotions. With 14 per cent of bets on racing placed through illegal overseas operators, the annual impact on industry funding, given none of these bodies pay specific race field fees or point-of-consumption tax, is between $110 million and $135 million.

While this is unlikely casino games – given how profitable pokies are216 – a substantial reduction in pokies numbers would come with great social benefits in reducing exposure to gambling,217 so governments should not shy away from the risk of a higher (one-off) cost. There is a risk that some people in the grip of gambling addiction seek out unlicensed websites in a deliberate attempt to circumvent loss limits. But, under current regulations, legal websites are not much safer than illegal ones for heavy gamblers. Many legal gambling operators do not have effective safeguards in place to prevent harm (Chapter 2).

Cashless gaming is currently a major focus for NSW, and is an important part of tackling money laundering via pokies,211 but is not an essential pre-cursor for mandatory pre-commitment. NSW stands out in having banned political donations from gambling businesses because of the potential for influence and perception of influence.167 But gambling interests in NSW still can and do donate at the federal level. Australian governments have historically legalised and promoted a wide range of gambling options.118 Today, governments oversee a tangled web of rules and codes for Australian gambling providers119 that leaves big holes in consumer protection. Australia’s gambling regulation is a mess and does little to reduce harm, let alone prevent it. Federal and state governments have different responsibilities, but neither are doing enough.

“Going soft on banning digital and online advertising will leave families vulnerable to the gambling industry vultures. The federal election represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to implement all 31 recommendations of the Murphy Report, including a ban on gambling advertising. Extraordinarily, half of the people surveyed who bet offshore, were registered with BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, while 30 per cent of people are betting with credit, which has been illegal in the onshore Australian market since mid-2024. “Organisations such as the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) share the sentiment that this lack of transparency undermines public confidence in sports outcomes and weakens integrity systems,” the report says. He said Australia needed to do more to regulate gambling, including limiting online gambling ads. Dr Tillman said gambling advertising targeted towards young people increased the risk of harm.