Australia: Cross-party MPs would back gambling ad ban in conscience vote

A ban on gambling advertising would pass the Australian Parliament if put to a conscience vote, according to several senior MPs who argue that the issue has become a matter of public health. Their assessment, reported by ABC News, reflects growing multi-partisan pressure on the Albanese Government to accelerate reform.

Dr Freelander, who co-chairs the Parliamentary Friends of Gambling Harm Minimisation group with Liberal MP Simon Kennedy and independent MP Kate Chaney, said broad political agreement had formed around reducing the harms linked to gambling promotion. He described gambling advertising as a public health issue, having witnessed its impact on families and children during his work as a paediatrician in Western Sydney.

Kennedy and Chaney have been critical of what they regard as slow progress from the Federal Government in responding to the 2023 inquiry into online gambling.

Kennedy said he had sat with families affected by gambling-related suicides and believed Australians expected greater urgency. Chaney noted that support for tighter rules extended across the political spectrum, with many crossbench MPs advocating for serious reform on behalf of their communities.

Momentum is also expanding outside Parliament. Reform advocates will present new research in Canberra this week calling for a national regulator for online wagering.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive Martin Thomas said the current system had enabled the Northern Territory to operate as a regulatory haven for foreign bookmakers because of its lower tax and lighter oversight.

The alliance's research shows that high-loss gamblers are typically men aged 25 to 44 who may also be experiencing financial pressure or mental health vulnerabilities. Grassroots action is building within Labor too, with the Labor for Gambling Reform group working to gain internal support for policy changes ahead of the party's national conference in July.

Industry body Responsible Wagering Australia argued that offshore operators remained the real regulatory risk, while the Government said recent measures such as the national self-exclusion register BetStop and the ban on credit cards for online wagering marked the strongest harm-reduction steps in a decade.