Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is committed to ensuring online gambling takes place within a robust legislative framework with strong consumer protections. Like many Australians, we are concerned about the extent of gambling ads and their impact, and it is one of the key reasons why we established the House of Representatives inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm to look at these very matters. The government awaits the recommendations from the House of Representatives inquiry, which is due to report in the coming weeks, as its recommendations will underpin the government's consideration of what further reforms are required to reduce gambling harms, including to the rules around gambling advertising.

The committee adopted an inquiry into online gambling and its impact on problem gambling on 15 September 2022, following a referral from the Minister for Social Services, the Hon. Amanda Rishworth MP. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has inquired into and will report on online gambling and its impact on those experiencing gambling harm. The House of Reps inquiry had regard to:

• the effectiveness of existing consumer protections aimed at reducing online gambling harm

• how to better target programs to address online gambling harm to reduce the potential exploitation of at-risk people, and protect individuals, families and communities

• the effectiveness of current counselling and support services to address online gambling harm

• the quality of and access to protective online gambling education programs

• the impact of current regulatory and licensing regimes for online gambling on the effectiveness of harm minimisation and consumer protection efforts

• the appropriateness of the definition of 'gambling service' in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth), and whether it should be amended to capture additional gambling-like activities such as simulated gambling in video games (e.g. 'loot boxes' and social casino games)

• the appropriateness of current gambling regulations in light of emerging technologies, payment options and products

• the effectiveness of protections against illegal online gambling services, including casino style gambling such as online blackjack and slot machines

• the effectiveness of current gambling advertising restrictions on limiting children's exposure to gambling products and services (e.g. promotion of betting odds during live sport broadcasts), including consideration of the impact of advertising through social media, sponsorship or branding from online licenced gambling operators, and

• any other related matters.

I would like to acknowledge the advocacy on these issues by many across the parliament, and I would also like to acknowledge the significant and ongoing work of the House committee looking into online gambling harms, led by Peta Murphy MP. In recent months, the chair, Peta Murphy, has held inquiries questioning Sportsbet, Tabcorp and Entain—operator of the brands Ladbrokes and Neds—and the peak industry body Responsible Wagering Australia about whether industry is doing enough to limit the harm of online gambling in the Australian community. In doing so, the chair has stated:

The AFL and NRL are major beneficiaries of sports betting, including through sponsorship and advertising, and receiving a proportion of each bet placed on their games. The Committee is interested in hearing how this aligns with the promotion of their codes as family-friendly and socially responsible organisations.

She also said that, when we do act in this area, we want to ensure our approach is comprehensive. Further, the committee has heard from researchers and state and territory governments about the effectiveness of current online gambling harm minimisation measures and new approaches that may be necessary to reduce harm. Importantly, we need to consider the multiple channels through which advertising is delivered, which includes not only television, radio and live streaming but also social media, where these advertisements are sometimes most pervasive, along with outdoor advertising and branding. In the meantime, the minister has been working with her department to prepare for the release of the report and intends to respond to it quickly.

It is safe to say that the coalition bill, from the government's point of view, is incomplete. It is only focused on radio, TV and live streaming and is limited to live sport. A harm minimisation approach needs to consider the multiple channels and situations through which advertising is delivered in this day and age, in particular social media. Any reform in this area must also be evidence based. These issues are being considered by the committee and that is why we, the Albanese Labor government, will await the House of Representatives inquiry's final report and the full suite of evidence it provides before proposing changes.

The only reason we have any restrictions on gambling ads during live sport is that Labor acted when we were last in government and called for further restrictions while in opposition. The fact is that the Liberal-National coalition are the architects of the current arrangements—arrangements that they now claim they want to change—and the architects of restrictions which have now been proven to be inadequate. Research by the regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, found that there was a 50 per cent increase in the total volume of gambling spots on television and radio following the introduction of the last set of gambling ad restrictions in 2018. Despite the fact that these figures from ACMA were released in 2019 and showed a 50 per cent increase in the volume of gaming spots on TV and radio, the coalition made no attempt to rectify the situation. They brought in the current gambling advertising rules and the commercial broadcasting tax, both of which were part of a broader deal struck with media companies that had little to do with harm minimisation. They took far too long to implement the national consumer protection framework, and, four years after the framework was established, only six of the 10 important measures had actually been implemented. They sat on their hands when it came to responding to reviews such as the 2020 Stevens review, which recommended addressing the regulation of gambling in computer games, and the 2019 parliamentary joint inquiry, which recommended banning credit cards for online gambling. Those opposite did too little too late on these issues.

Within one year of government, the Albanese government has already taken a range of important steps to reduce gambling harms. It is the Albanese government that established an inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm. This is the government that announced that it would strengthen classification of gambling-like features in videogames, including loot boxes and simulated casino games, to protect children from exposure to harms. This is the government that has committed to legislate to ban credit cards for online gambling. This is the government that brought together state and territory ministers for the first time since 2017 to discuss what comes next to address gambling harms. And this is the government that will launch the National Self-Exclusion Register, BetStop. BetStop is the final element of the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering. Two other elements consist of gambling messaging and wagering staff training in March of this year.

In light of the opposition leader's recent interest in addressing gambling harm, we look forward to the opposition's support as we progress towards reform in this area. We understand that reform to gambling advertising is important to the community. We will continue to progress our harm minimisation agenda to protect Australians who are vulnerable to gambling harms. So, while I commend Senator Henderson for this bill, the government will not be supporting it here today. In saying so, I hope Senator Henderson throws her support behind any future proposed changes to online gambling to protect those experiencing gambling harm.