Foreword

‘You win some, you lose more.’ This government tagline on gambling advertising, adopted as part of the National Consumer Protection Framework, aptly sums up the evidence received during this inquiry. If the status quo of online gambling regulation, including but not limited to advertising, was to continue Australians would continue to lose more – more money, more relationships, more love of sport for the game rather than the odds.

This inquiry considered whether the current regulatory framework for online gambling and gambling advertising in Australia is fit for purpose and meeting community expectations. The Committee received powerful evidence from people with lived experience of online gambling harm, and from academic and health experts, peak bodies, community organisations and concerned individuals about the harm online gambling is causing to everyday Australians, the people they love, and to their communities.

Australians outspend the citizens of every other country on online gambling. This is wreaking havoc in our communities. Saturation advertising ensures our future losses. Only online wagering service providers (WSPs), major sporting organisations and media gain from the status quo. This inquiry heard evidence from gamblers who lost and were encouraged by WSPs to gamble more; and from those who won and were prevented from gambling further. Any business model which encourages harm deserves to be closely scrutinised.

Australians do not like being flooded by messages and inducements to gamble online and worry about the effect this is having on children and young people. Most believe that gambling is harmful for society and that it has become too easy to gamble in Australia. Almost half of Australians surveyed in 2022 placed a bet on sports or racing and about two-thirds of those people are at risk of harm. It is easier now than ever before to lose big with a few taps on a mobile phone.

Online gambling is unlike other forms of entertainment because of its potential to cause psychological, health, relationship, legal and financial harm to individuals and those around them, and tragically, gambling is a key risk factor for suicide. A person’s gambling can progress to the behavioural addiction of gambling disorder, which is like addictions to substances. There are currently few safeguards to protect people with gambling disorder from online gambling harm, and many find it difficult to ask for help because the stigma associated with harm from gambling is silencing. Those who do seek help find it difficult to access appropriate treatment and support.

Australians lose the most to online gambling because we have a weak and fragmented regulatory framework, which places all the onus for reducing harm onto the person who gambles. Despite gambling harm being a major public health issue, we do not treat it like one. Instead, our policies and regulation encourage ‘responsible gambling’, which absolves online WSPs of much of the responsibility for the harm their products cause. There is inconsistency across the states and territories in how online gambling is regulated and there is little incentive for the states and territories to impose tougher regulations, or licensing fees. As a result, the Northern Territory Racing Commission is Australia’s de facto online gambling regulator.

I am proud to say this Committee has delivered a unanimous report that says, “enough is enough”. The Committee has made 31 recommendations that apply a public health lens to online gambling to reduce harm across the whole Australian population. We have recommended that a single Australian Government Minister be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive national strategy on online gambling harm reduction, supported by national regulation, an online gambling ombudsman, a harm reduction levy on online WSPs, and a public education campaign, more independent research, and improved data collection. We have also recommended a crackdown on illegal gambling operators, including online casinos, and skins and esports betting websites. A range of measures have been recommended to improve the availability and adequacy of the support and treatment available to those experiencing gambling harm, and to reduce stigma.

Under national regulation, the Australian Government would be responsible for all regulation and licencing of online gambling, although the states and territories would retain the capacity to levy point of consumption taxes on online gambling. The Committee has recommended stronger consumer protections for online gambling, including a requirement for WSPs to verify their customer’s identity before accepting bets from them, a ban on inducements, and a legislated duty of care on WSPs.

Online gambling companies advertise so much in Australia because it works. Online gambling has been deliberately and strategically marketed alongside sport, which has normalised it as a fun, harmless, and sociable activity that is part of a favourite pastime. Gambling advertising is grooming children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behaviour. The torrent of advertising is inescapable. It is manipulating an impressionable and vulnerable audience to gamble online. Australia’s largest professional sporting codes and broadcast media werelargely in lockstep with their advertising and sponsorship partners in the gambling industry during this inquiry to oppose further restrictions.

The Committee shares the concerns of many witnesses and the community that the statusquo is leading to a generation of young Australians who view gambling and sport as inextricably linked. This is concerning, not only because of the potential increase in Australians experiencing gambling harm, but also about changes to the culture of sport. Australia would be diminished if sport was to be so captured by gambling revenue that providing an opportunity for betting came to be seen as its primary purpose.

A phased, comprehensive ban on all gambling advertising on all media – broadcast and online, that leaves no room for circumvention, is needed. Partial bans on gambling advertising do not work. The 2017 media reforms resulted in gambling advertising on television increasing. Harmful industries have shown they will identify and capitalise on any gaps in marketing restrictions and that they are taking advantage of the less regulated online environment. The advertising ban should be enforced sequentially, with advertising that has the highest risk of harm to be addressed immediately. To enable sporting bodies and broadcasters adequate time to locate alternative sources of advertising revenue and to comply with current contractual obligations, the Committee recommends that the comprehensive ban be phased in over a three-year period.

The number of Australians who want to control their gambling is staggering. Half a million Australians have asked their banks to put temporary or permanent gambling blocks on their bank accounts. While most Australian banks have introduced measures to assist their customers in managing their gambling, there is inconsistency in the approaches taken by individual banks. Other payment methods do not offer similar protections and allow Australians to bypass the blocks they have placed on their bank accounts. Some payment methods are widely accepted by illegal online gambling operators and may facilitate criminal activity. The Committee has recommended the Australian Government develop a set of minimum gambling harm prevention standards to be implemented by all Australian banks, and for a ban on payment methods for online gambling that do not minimise the risk of criminal activity and gambling harm.

The Australian Government’s recently announced ban on the use of credit cards for online gambling is recognition that people should not be gambling with money they do not have. However, the Committee heard that some gamblers are using payday loans to fund their gambling. There is a need to ensure the compliance of the payday lending sector with their responsible lending obligations relating to customers who gamble, following the Australian Government’s 2022 reforms.

Children and young people are also being exposed to gambling through interactive games like social casinos, which simulate real gambling or include gambling like features such as loot boxes. These games are currently being provided on some platforms without appropriate classification guidance. The Committee supports the Australian Government’s proposed changes to the classification system to reduce the risk of harm from social casinos and loot box features in interactive games. We have recommended the classification scheme be consistently applied across online app stores, that a simulated gambling warning label be developed, minimum consumer protections on games, and that there be better education for young people, parents, caregivers and teachers about simulated gambling.

I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the many people who contributed their time and expertise to this inquiry, particularly those who shared their personal experiences of gambling harm. It took incredible courage and strength for you to come forward, and it is your experiences, described in your own words that have provided the foundation for this report and its recommendations. I also acknowledge the dedication and collegiality of Members of the Committee in the conduct of this inquiry. Finally, this important and thorough report could not have been written without the outstanding assistance of the committee secretariat; all members express our gratitude for your work.

Ms Peta Murphy MPChair