Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Pocock for his question and his courtesy in giving us some advance notice of that question. You rightly set out the amount that Australians lose each year through gambling, and that obviously is a very significant amount of money. The government is concerned about the impact of gambling on children, and we've done a number of things since coming to government in this respect. The government recently established a parliamentary inquiry into gambling and its impact on gambling harm. One of the key focus areas of the parliamentary inquiry is considering the effectiveness of current gambling advertising restrictions, particularly on limiting children's exposure to gambling products and services, including through social media. I am aware of gambling-like games, for instance the video games that include loot boxes and social gaming, and they're of concern to many community members. Work is being done on this issue and will obviously be part of the focus on the parliamentary inquiry that I referred to earlier. The office of the eSafety Commissioner has a guide on its website for parents about gaming, including those games with gambling-like elements. (Time expired)