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TRANSCRIPT
At his National Press Club address on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his government would implement new gambling advertising restrictions.
"Between 6am and 8:30pm, we will cap the number of TV ads for betting agencies at a maximum of three per hour, we will ban all gambling ads on radio during school pickup and drop-off. We will ban cross promotion content that mixes commentary with odds. We will end advertising on Jerseys and jumpers and in stadiums."
Mr Albanese also says his government will ban online gambling advertising, unless the user is verified as being over 18 and has the ability to opt out.
He says Australia will also block illegal offshore gaming sites and ban online keno-type products, which are often known as pocket pokies.
The federal government will also keep investing in Betstop, the National Self-Exclusion Register that allows users to block all Australian licensed online and phone wagering providers.
"We are getting the balance right. Letting adults have a punt if they want to, but making sure that our children don't see betting ads everywhere they look, because we don't want kids growing up thinking that footy and gambling are inextricably linked."
In 2023, the late Labor MP Peta Murphy delivered a report following a parliamentary inquiry into gambling ads, which she recommended to outlaw gambling advertisements altogether, as well as another 30 recommendations.
Mr Albanese has been criticised for only taking a partial reform on gambling advertisements, rather than carrying out a full plan suggested in the Murphy report.
He's defended his announcement, saying the reform will be the most significant one that's been implemented on gambling advertising.
"Well more ads can't be played, that's the point behind having a restriction, from the average when we were talking about a couple of years ago, in 2024, for example, it was 8, 8. So 3 is definitely cutting by more than half. It's about getting that balance right and the nature of it as well."
A study in 2024 shows almost two in three Australian adults gambled at least once in 2023, with over one in seven experiencing gambling-related harms.
The government will legislate the changes imminently, which are expected to begin from 1 January 2027.
But before that, the government will need support from other sides of politics.
The Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called Mr Albanese gutless in tackling the ban on gambling advertising.
"Not only has the prime minister skipped it on putting in place a real ban on advertising of gambling, but he hasn't even had the guts to take on gambling industry and put in place the national regulator. That is needed, because we know what happened. State governments around the country addicted to the money that come from the gambling industry, and the gambling industry's set themselves up in the easiest jurisdiction."
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson says the reform has been long overdue.
"We will be scrutinising the detail of what has been announced today, I certainly have some concerns about the ban, the ban on online gambling advertising for children under 18, given the disaster with the social media ban, we know that's not working."
