Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

Gambling is a popular activity. In Australia around 80 per cent of the adult population gambles, and half of these gamble at least once a week. Lotteries and instant scratchies are the most popular forms of gambling, with 60 per cent participation, followed by pokies at 38 per cent and betting on the races at 24 per cent. However, most Australians would not be aware that they have a greater chance of being killed by lightning—one in 1.6 million—than of winning Powerball, which is a one in 54.9 million possibility. Australians spent more on gambling, around $16 billion, in 2003-04 than on their own health, at $13 billion. Nearly 300,000 Australians have significant gambling problems. Problem gamblers lose a staggering $3.5 billion annually or, on average, $12,000 each.

It is estimated that there are around 1,600 gambling related divorces annually and between 35 and 60 Australians commit suicide each year due to their problem gambling. New technologies will have a profound and increasing impact on gambling patterns and experiences. We need to act to address these new problem gambling risks. The opposition is concerned about the despair, economic and emotional hardship and the real life impact on families and their futures that results from problem gambling. The Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2008 seeks to amend the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to address a new gambling threat—a new powerful, insidious and potentially pervasive form of gambling. This is a practical and meaningful action to address the genuine community concern about the impact, omnipresence and, for too many, overwhelming influence of gambling in Australia. The bill seeks to prohibit the roll-out of new gambling technology in the form of subscription television based interactive gambling. It rejects the suggestion by proponents and gambling revenue addicted state Labor governments that this new form of gambling is no big deal—it is just another convenience inspired baby step beyond the abundant gambling opportunities currently available.

The bill makes its absolutely clear that the limited exemption to current interactive gambling prohibitions, permitting wagering over the phone or internet, does not allow for interactive subscription television gambling with all of the sounds, sights and stimuli of race day in the family lounge room. The bill also obliges the Rudd Labor government to conduct an open and extensive examination of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, including wide public consultation, to ensure it can adequately address new gambling and converging technologies and reflects contemporary community standards concerning interactive gambling. The review aims to ensure that the Commonwealth law reflects current best practice, international research and knowledge about problem gambling and linkages to particular kinds of gambling and embraces protections and effective safeguards against problem, excessive, underage and unlawful gambling.

The 30 June 2009 reporting date provides ample time to consider how best to use new and emerging technologies to negate the risk, prevalence and consequences of problem gambling. The duty on the minister to provide a copy of the review report to both houses of parliament will ensure that legislators can consider whether the regulatory framework is sufficiently robust to cope with technological change, innovation and convergence. This is all about recognising, understanding and getting ahead of the impact of new and emerging gambling technologies and their consequences. Contrast the practical political leadership and clear, decisive and tangible action of the opposition with the inaction and political deception of the Rudd Labor government. Instead, Prime Minister Rudd has sat back, happy that his spin and deception generated the desired ‘War on Pokies’ newspaper headlines to secure a typical Labor ‘optics’ outcome of appearing to care and take action, while actually doing nothing practical or of substance. Turning a blind eye may have kept the Rudd government sweet with their state Labor mates when the pending introduction of subscription TV gambling was revealed earlier this year, but the Prime Minister and the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, cannot continue to refuse to lift a finger while a new lucrative and highly addictive form of gambling with serious and significant known risks is rolled out despite the Commonwealth having clear powers to stop it.

Pay TV gambling has begun in Victoria with racing, but many suspect it is just a matter of time before pressure mounts to extend interactive betting on football codes, other sports and even in virtual casinos. The gambling industry describes interactive TV gambling as an ‘exciting fledgling market’. Pay TV gambling presents a new danger to problem gamblers and will also provide an easy and tempting introduction to gambling to teenagers, where they will not even have to leave the couch. You can lose your shirt without having to put one on. The US Office of Substance Abuse and the British Medical Association have both recognised and warned about the additional risks associated with remote interactive gambling. Its availability and accessibility, solitary and hidden nature and appeal to socially inhibited, vulnerable and escapist gamblers give rise to these risks. Similarly, the 2004 review of the operations of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 expressed concern that interactive gambling, including television based platforms would potentially normalise aberrant behaviour and exacerbate the social harm associated with problem gambling. —(Time expired)

Bill read a first time.

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