The Government Just Did a Deal on Betting Ads — Here's What's Actually in It
The Labor government and the Coalition opposition have agreed to pass new laws that crack down on betting ads. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Anika Wells negotiated the deal. The laws are set to pass on a Thursday — nearly three years after late Labor MP Peta Murphy handed down a report calling for a complete ban on betting ads and the free bets and bonuses gambling companies use to lure customers. The Guardian
The final bill does not bring in the total ban Murphy wanted. The government says its aim is to reduce how many gambling ads kids see, cut back the flood of online betting ads, and loosen the connection between gambling and sport. Parliament of Australia
So what changes? The blackout period for ads during live sport goes from five minutes to 15 minutes before and after play. TV stations can only run three gambling ads per hour, and that cap now starts at 5am instead of 6am, with extra restrictions during kids' shows. Betting ads will be banned on players' jerseys and inside stadiums. Celebrities and players won't be allowed to promote gambling. And for online ads, there's a 'triple lock' — users have to be over 18, logged in, and given the chance to opt out. The Guardian
The government will also set up a one-stop 'opt-out register' — similar to the Do Not Call register for telemarketing — that lets Australians choose not to receive gambling ads. But how the register will actually work, whether it'll be ready by 1 January 2027 when the other changes start, and how it'll handle people's personal data are all still unclear. Gambling industry sources have raised these questions and flagged privacy concerns. The Guardian
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the free bets and bonus offers (known as 'inducements') will be banned for any customer identified as being at risk of gambling harm, for 14 days after someone signs up with a betting service, and for three months after they leave Betstop (the national register where people can voluntarily block themselves from gambling). Staff or affiliates who refer customers to betting companies will no longer get commissions based on how much those customers lose. The Guardian
Not everyone's happy. Two Liberal MPs, Andrew Wallace and Pat Conaghan, voted against some of the changes because they think the reforms are too weak. Wallace said the government should have gone further with ad blackouts and made betting companies ask for permission before sending inducements, rather than relying on people to opt out. Conaghan helped run the Murphy review in 2023 and said the reforms don't match what that review recommended. The Guardian
Guardian Australia reported that at least two more Liberal senators, Andrew McLachlan and Paul Scarr, might also vote against the bill when it reaches the Senate. Independent MP Zali Steggall complained that crossbenchers — the MPs who sit outside the major parties — weren't given any time to read the amendments before voting. The Guardian
The broader context here is the gap between what Murphy's review said should happen and what parliament is willing to do. Her 2023 report called for a total ban on betting ads and inducements, phasing out online gambling advertising over three years to tackle growing addiction. Advocacy group GetUp has argued the bill should go further and deliver the full, phased ban the inquiry recommended. Parliament of Australia
What the deal really does is meet in the middle. It limits when and where ads can appear, but it doesn't get rid of them. It asks consumers to opt out of receiving ads, rather than making betting companies ask people to opt in. The opt-out register is the government's answer to the sheer volume of gambling advertising, but whether it works depends on details that haven't been explained yet. The industry's privacy concerns are fair enough, but it's also worth remembering that betting companies have a financial interest in making the register as easy to ignore as possible.
The fact that Wallace and Conaghan crossed the floor matters because they're Coalition MPs, not independents. Conaghan's view carries extra weight because he was deputy chair of the Murphy review. When he says the reforms fall short of the inquiry's findings, that's a criticism from someone who helped write the original recommendations. Steggall's complaint about not getting time to read the amendments is the kind of frustration that comes up when both major parties back a bill and rush it through, leaving the crossbench with little chance to shape it.
As for the Senate, if McLachlan and Scarr do cross the floor, the government's numbers could get interesting. The deal with the Coalition gives Labor enough votes to pass the bill, but the grumbling inside Coalition ranks suggests the agreement isn't as solid as it looks. The reforms start on 1 January 2027, except for the opt-out register, which may or may not be ready by then.
