Latest Media Releases
AFL must do more than ‘virtue signalling’ on gender-based violence
3 May 2024
The AFL is acting hypocritically in taking a minute’s silence at all its games this weekend to highlight gender-based violence while still taking millions of dollars from gambling agencies – when gambling is known to make domestic violence more frequent and more severe. >>READ MORE
Inexcusable clubs’ data breach spotlights need for cashless gambling card
2 May 2024
The data breach by a string of NSW and ACT Clubs is inexcusable and damaging and would have been avoided by a centralised, secure universal cashless gambling card system, the Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Carol Bennett, says. >>READ MORE
Alliance in Action
ONLINE GAMBLING
Online gambling participation has increased exponentially over the past few years and the true extent of its impacts on our communities are still being understood. However, the evidence currently available shows significant gambling harm being experienced online by young people and vulnerable community groups with a massive increase in online wagering companies profits over the past few years.
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Advocates warn Northern Territory gambling reforms may leave public at risk - (Gold Cost Bulletin)
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NT gambling laws are being overhauled. Here's why reform will have national consequences (ABC News)
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A-Leagues Brandish Offshore Operator’s Logo in Overseas Broadcasts (Gambling News)
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Geelong man issues warning against online sport gambling after his addiction saw him land in jail (ABC News)
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Only one harm reduction group and 28 betting companies consulted over contentious NT gambling bill (The Guardian)
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Does anyone have a chance in a race against big gambling? (Alliance for Gambling Reform)
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 17 Apr 2024 Predatory gambling ads must be part of nation’s online safety regime
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 20 Mar 2024 Fed Govt must strengthen limp NT online gambling laws - New NT laws fail to protect communities from rapacious foreign operators
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 3 Mar 2024 Time to honour Peta Murphy and commit to real gambling reforms - Australian voters want end to the carnage caused by gambling that adds to cost of living pain.
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 20 Dec 2023 Christmas a trigger for spike in gambling - Urgent plea for Prime Minister to act on gambling reforms
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 7 Dec 2023 Alarming loopholes in gambling credit ‘ban’ - Gambling lobbyists hold sway over our politicians
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 2 June 2023 Australia’s online gambling laws among the weakest in the world - Industry exploiting weak laws to groom children for a life of gambling
CALLING FOR AN END TO GAMBLING ADS
It's time to kick gambling ads out of sport! Sign the petition and find out more about how you can stand with us to end gambling ads here!
Sign the petition to #EndGamblingAds Here
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CEO of the Alliance, Carol Bennett, joined Ian Bunston on his podcast Monday Matters. They were joined by lived experience advocates Reggie Stockwell and Ken Bone who shared their “incredible stories, and incredible contributions back to the community”. The podcast focused on strategies to tackle gambling harm, in a powerful conversation (Monday Matters)
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‘Suddenly it’s cool’: children believe use of influencers in gambling ads makes it seem fun (The Guardian)
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 4 Dec 2023 New poll: 70% of Australians want gambling ad ban - Compelling results Albanese government can’t ignore
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 29 Sep 2023 Privacy reforms highlight need to protect children from harmful product marketing
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 22 Aug 2023 Call to delay govt response to gambling ad ban
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 22 May 2023 Bill to ban gambling ads on broadcasting platforms applauded - But ban must also be extended to ban social media platforms
CASINOS
The Alliance welcomed the recommendations in the independent external review of the Queensland operations of Star and Palaszczuk Government’s announcement to accept all the recommendations in principle. The Alliance also acknowledges the effort of the Queensland Government to replace terms such as ‘problem gambler’ and ‘responsible gambling’ in relevant legislation and replace it with wording to reduce stigma and shame. This is a positive, nation-leading step by the Queensland Government.
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Win for Crown Resorts as its Melbourne casino keeps state licence (The Age)
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SKC ASX : Another casino operator, SkyCity, is in trouble. Nobody is talking about it (Australian Financial Review)
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The Star not ready for unsupervised casino licence, chair says (Sydney Morning Herald)
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Queensland casinos to have cash limits, new penalties in gambling reforms prompted by Star report (ABC News)
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Crown casino licence: Why company will keep operating in Melbourne (The Age)
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The Star’s cash-out machines gave customers millions. Now they’re fighting fraud charges (Sydney Morning Herald)
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 26 Mar 2024 Crown reprieve must be ‘last chance saloon’ Bolstered regulation and big fines have helped protect casino consumers and reduce gambling harm
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 30 May 2023 $450m Crown fine would fund 10 years of gambling harm reduction - AUSTRAC action underscores need for a national gambling regulator
CASHLESS CARD
"Too important to fail." If Tasmania successfully progresses with its plans to introduce a mandatory cashless gambling card with binding and default limits , it will represent the ‘gold standard’ in reducing gambling harm and money laundering. It’s a move that is critically needed in Tasmania. We hope that no matter the outcome of the upcoming election, that this promise is not compromised. More with the Alliance's Tim Costello.
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First NSW cashless gaming trial results criticised as further trials continue (Drinks Trade) - 24 Apr 2024
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Pokies venues bet on community goodwill over gambling revenue (Institute of Community Directors Australia)
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'Dud' policy or 'absolutely essential'? Battlelines drawn over the best ways to reduce gambling harm (Riotact)
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Joint Statement on Poker Machines in Tasmania (Tasmanian Times)
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Government refuses to release results of first cashless gaming trial (The Sydney Morning Herald)
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Gambling reform in Tasmania is too important not have bipartisan support (Alliance for Gambling Reform)
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Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff calls early election as pressure mounts on minority Liberal government (Sky News)
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 27 Mar 2023 - ACT carded gambling a gamechanger to cut gambling harm - Staggering $1.2b lost by Territorians over last decade
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Tasmanian Liberals - 16 Feb 2024 Liberals committed to poker machine harm reduction, with new $100,000 exclusion scheme campaign
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Alliance for Gambling Reform - 10 Nov 2023 Cashless card trial expansion to cause more delays - Gambling industry ‘in control’ of sham poker machine trial
On Friday February 9, the Alliance's Rebecca Paterson joined Digital Rights Watch and EFA : Electronic Frontiers Australia to present an open letter signed by 22 organisations to Attorney General Mark Dreyfus. The letter called on the Federal government to commit to bold reform of Australia’s Privacy Act to protect the safety and privacy of children.
On 28 November 2023. Alliance Chief Advocate Tim Costello and CEO Carol Bennett joined Zoe Daniel, Kate Chaney MP and mum Cecelia Aull and her daughter Annabelle at a press conference at Australian Parliament House in Canberra calling on the federal government to ban gambling ads. Will the Anthony Albanese government have the resolve to stare down the gambling industry and other vested interests to act in the best interest of the public?’
Alliance in the News
First NSW cashless gaming trial results criticised as further trials continue
Drinks Trade
24 Apr 2024
The report into the cashless gaming trial conducted at Wests Newcastle has received criticism from various industry stakeholders after it showed the technology to have little impact on the behaviour of gamblers.
The main areas of concern have stemmed from the trial’s lack of harm-reducing features and lack of features that encourage continued participation.
“It was mostly about testing the technology and a little bit of a hint towards harm minimisation,” said Carol Bennet, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform.
“I would have liked to see more on the harm minimisation front.”
NSW Netball Teams Back Gambling Ad Ban
B&T
5 Apr 2024
The mistake raised calls for gambling advertising reform with the ground-based ads engraining gambling practice within the sport itself. According to the Alliance For Gambling Reform, three in every four kids believe that gambling is a normal part of sports, and anyone 12 or younger has never watched a sporting game without bearing witness to gambling advertising of some capacity.
Pokies venues bet on community goodwill over gambling revenue
Institute of Community Directors Australia
16 Apr 2024
Faced with inaction from government, some pokies venues are taking matters into their own hands to stem community losses from gambling, writes Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Carol Bennett.
There is a growing backlash against gambling in Australia.
Across Australia’s eastern states, clubs and pubs are increasingly shunning poker machines.
In some cases, it’s a response to falling revenue, but mostly it is a response by clubs and pubs to the growing anger across the nation about the intolerable and devastating gambling losses we all pay a price for.
“An Error Was Made In Round One”: Tabcorp Admits To Breaching Its Own Advertising Rules
Bandt
3 Apr 2024
The mistake has raised calls for gambling advertising reform with the ground-based ads engraining gambling practice within the sport itself. According to the Alliance For Gambling Reform, three in every four kids believe that gambling is a normal part of sports, and anyone 12 or younger has never watched a sporting game without bearing witness to gambling advertising of some capacity.
“I am now reluctant to allow my child to view the footy fixture online due to the ‘Bet Easy’ icon next to the game. I also feel annoyed and dismayed at the AFL that they have allowed a gambling company to infiltrate the game,” an anonymous source told the Alliance For Gambling Reform.
This community club took extreme measures to kill off its pokies
The Age
6 Apr 2024
“The Hastings Club is reacting to state regulations that limit its capacity to meet increased liabilities at a time when returns from gambling are diminishing,” said the Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive Carol Bennett.
“The government should be providing clubs every opportunity to surrender poker machine entitlements for the benefit of the community, but this is unlikely given the parlous budgetary situation in Victoria,” she said.
“A government focussed on reducing gambling harm would strive to reduce overall pokies entitlements altogether. Revenue from gambling should not be propping up the Victorian budget.”
'Dud' policy or 'absolutely essential'? Battlelines drawn over the best ways to reduce gambling harm
Riotact
2 Apr 2024
Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Carol Bennett asked why the two had to be mutually exclusive.
“Why wouldn’t we aim for both?” she asked.
ACTCOSS CEO Devin Bowles added: “Having a system that encompasses the whole jurisdiction is absolutely essential if we want to minimise gambling harms.”
April 2024
Newsletter
The past week was a reminder of just how bizarre the narrative around gambling and its role in Australian culture can be when it comes to what, and even whether, gambling harm is experienced let alone the solutions to address it. The calling into question of extensive evidence and recommendations put forward by numerous inquiries and reviews from Royal Commissions and organisations such as the NSW Crime Commission was surreal.
In giving evidence to the ACT Inquiry into Cashless Gambling on 27 March 2024, Tim and I called for cashless gambling including harm reduction features - reforms that would address the escalating losses in a small jurisdiction of less than 500,000 people. Let's hope for the sake of Canberrans that common sense will prevail rather than the fantasy world inhabited by gambling industry lobbyists who seem to deny any harms or any evidence that runs counter to them increasing their profits (even in their not-for-profit clubs)... READ MORE