Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I thank the member for Mayo and also her colleague the member for Clark for their advocacy as part of the Parliamentary Friends of Gambling Harm Reduction, of which I am a member. I'm pleased to second this bill, because we live in a world of problematic online gambling that is ruining the financial and social stability of our country. This bill aims to lessen the impact of this harm on individuals, their families, their friends and our communities. In my community of Macarthur I certainly see extreme problems caused by online gambling where people are losing businesses, losing their families and losing their livelihoods because of the access to credit cards and their use in online gambling. We must remember that these companies, such as Ladbrokes, Sportsbet et cetera, are highly sophisticated marketers. They spend millions of dollars on marketing. They are experts in this and they are attacking our young people. It is destroying lives and destroying livelihoods.

It's long past time for action. Indeed, I fully support and commend Ministers Rishworth and Rowland for putting in place actions to reduce the harm caused by online gambling. In particular, Minister Rowland has set up, under the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, an inquiry into online gambling, and we look forward to its report. But, as the member for Mayo has mentioned, it's long past time for action. This is something that has occurred over a number of years, and our young people are being assailed day and night, 24 hours a day, by advertising and manipulative behaviour by these online gambling companies. Things like 'bet with a friend', 'bet with your community' and 'bet with mates' are done for a reason. It's very clever marketing and it leads to the destruction of livelihoods, and we must stop it.

I'm very grateful to the member for Mayo for bringing this bill to parliament, but I know that the Albanese government will be taking action against online gambling in the not-too-distant future. We look forward to the committee's report. I commend this bill to the House, and I look forward to further action by the Albanese government.

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