ACT senator David Pocock has described the Australian government's refusal to get tough on gambling advertising as a "tragedy," demanding to know why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is standing in the way of strong public sentiment and bipartisan support for reform.

Pocock's comments on Friday 8 August 2026 cap a week in which the gambling industry faced explosive allegations before a parliamentary inquiry. On Monday 3 August, veteran anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello and former NRL player Luke Bateman told the inquiry that problem gamblers had been supplied with cocaine, alcohol, sex workers and luxury hotel stays by VIP account managers working to keep big-spending punters betting. Bateman estimated he personally lost about $1 million through gambling. Costello said he was supporting a man now in prison after stealing millions to feed his addiction (The Guardian).

The industry has pushed back. Responsible Wagering Australia, along with betting companies Sportsbet and Tabcorp, said they had no evidence to support the allegations made by Costello and Bateman.

Pocock, a former Wallabies captain turned independent senator, has been a persistent voice on the issue. In February he told the Senate that gambling advertising is "out of control" and that media companies are "addicted to it." He cited data showing 16 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds are already gambling. By March, he noted it had been a thousand days since the late MP Peta Murphy handed the government her landmark review recommending a phase-in ban on gambling ads — a report that drew bipartisan support in principle.

The Murphy review, delivered after a parliamentary inquiry, recommended phasing out all online gambling advertising over three years. That recommendation sits at the heart of the current political fight.

Labor's proposed legislation would limit gambling ads on television to three per hour before 8.30pm, ban radio ads during school drop-off and pickup times, and prohibit betting logos on player jerseys and stadium promotions. The bill would also strengthen BetStop, the self-exclusion scheme that lets gamblers bar themselves from betting platforms, and create a "triple lock" option for viewers to opt out of advertising across online platforms and streaming services.

But the bill is, by most accounts, friendless in parliament. ABC News reported on 6 August that Labor is unlikely to entertain major changes to its gambling ad crackdown despite having no Senate support for the legislation as it stands (ABC News). Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young have both signalled they will demand the government go further on advertising restrictions to win their support.

Public opinion leans toward tougher action. A Guardian Essential poll in November 2025 found 40 per cent of voters supported a blanket ban on all gambling advertising. Another 23 per cent wanted advertising allowed only with heavy restrictions, and 28 per cent backed moderate restrictions on when and where ads could appear.

Pocock's question is straightforward: if the public wants it, the opposition supports it, and the crossbench is demanding it, why is the Prime Minister blocking it? The answer, as the Senate heads toward a vote, will determine whether Australia's saturated gambling ad landscape changes or stays as it is.