Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the consequences of harm from gambling are poorer health and wellbeing for individuals who gamble, their family members, friends and community;

(b) family and relationship problems, emotional and psychological issues, including distress, depression, suicide and violence and financial harms are all costs of gambling;

(c) the potential for harm has increased with the proliferation of online gambling, and the proliferation of sports bettors gambling online which significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; and

(d) a three-year study by La Trobe University with 50 thousand respondents revealed that more than three quarters felt they should be able to watch sport on television free from gambling ads and that young people are exposed to too much gambling advertising; and

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) expenditure on gambling advertising in Australia has increased by 320 per cent in the past 11 years;

(b) exposure to gambling advertising normalises betting and increases the risk of harm;

(c) current restrictions have failed to reduce children and young people's exposure to gambling, especially sports betting; and

(d) the prolific promotion of sports betting does not align with community values.

Four decades ago, tobacco advertising was banished from television by the Fraser government after courageous resistance to lobbying from vested interests. Since then, gambling advertising has filled the void, despite reams of evidence about the harm it causes. Recent survey results from the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Australian Gambling Research Centre show that exposure to advertising is leading to riskier betting behaviour. One in five people started betting for the first time after seeing or hearing an ad. Three-quarters of those surveyed had gambled at least once in the last year. It's a slippery slope. In a recent study on the impact of advertising, an 11-year-old boy said: 'People want to watch the game and not see the ads. They don't need to be encouraged to have a bet.' A 14-year-old girl said: 'I'm a bit disappointed and sad that gambling is such a big part of sport now. It doesn't have to be about money.' In one study, most young people—79.3 per cent—said there should be no advertisements or fewer advertisements.

The ads used role models, such as former football or basketball stars, to validate the ads to young people. They make gambling look fun, aspirational, fashionable and almost more important than the sport being played. One 13-year-old said: 'Advertising makes it appear that it's really popular.' The reality, of course, is quite different. As the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation's February 2023 discussion paper outlines, the consequences of harm from gambling are poorer health and wellbeing for individuals who gamble and those around them. The paper goes on to say that the social cost of gambling in Victoria alone has been estimated at $7 billion a year, with financial harm being the third-highest cost after family and relationship problems and psychological issues.

Only 30 per cent of those affected by the harm are defined as 'problem gamblers', and studies show that policy interventions restricting the timing and context of gambling advertising are not working. The total gambling ad spend in Australia has risen by 320 per cent since 2011. In Victoria, the gambling ad spend is about three times that spent on alcohol. An average of 148 ads are shown in family prime-time between six and 8.30 pm, and gambling ads are overflowing into non-sport programs, including those that appeal to children. This is all about normalising gambling, not as an add-on to sport but integral to it.

The government says, 'Wait and see what the committee inquiry currently underway comes up with,' but the minister has not committed to implementing whatever recommendations the Labor led panel comes up with.

The opposition says to ban advertising for an hour each side of games. The evidence is that this won't work. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that after the last attempt to restrict gambling ads during live sport, back in 2018, the total volume of gambling spots increased by no less than 50 per cent. The ads simply migrated to general programming, much of it watched by children and teenagers.

We cannot wait a moment longer before calling time on this. We are reaching a point where our kids know more about multis than they do about the game. And it pays. Sportsbet, a foreign owned company, nearly tripled its revenue, from US$620 million to US$1.5 billion, in just 12 months, from 2019 to 2020. And they pay minimal tax—a mere $½ million annually—by locating their operations where the tax regime is most friendly, currently the Northern Territory. I'm aware of young teenagers in Goldstein who are gambling on apps; 72 per cent of parents are bothered by this, ACMA research says, and 76 per cent of AFL fans don't want it either, according to a recent survey, while 62 per cent said the AFL should not receive any revenue from gambling advertising. Eleven of 16 AFL club executives who were polled by The Age in 2022 said the level of gambling advertising in the sport is excessive. One said the AFL had 'prostituted themselves to the gambling industry'.

Our system has normalised gambling, and we must fix it. Soccer-mad Belgium is leading the way, progressively getting rid of gambling ads, and sponsorship for pro teams will be phased out over five years. If we don't follow, there will be long-term consequences. The largest group of sports betters in Victoria is young men aged 18 to 24—part of the first generation to be subjected to ubiquitous and insidious gambling advertising.

See this speech in context