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The Victorian Government must immediately adopt all 61 recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry which has detailed a comprehensive blueprint to dramatically cut gambling harm across the State.

The Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) report, published today, details a raft of recommendations including the consideration of setting gambling loss limits, reducing the number of poker machines in the State and imposing greater restrictions on gambling advertising.

The Prime Minister must consider urgent changes to his Ministerial Code of Conduct in the wake of more revelations that gambling industry paid for lavish hospitality of Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland.

The expansion of the NSW Government’s needless cashless card poker machine trial will lead to even more delays in its completion and play into the gambling industry’s hands by stalling critical gambling reforms, the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said.

“Premier Chris Minns should immediately scrap his needless trial of a gambling cashless card and introduce the card now, in the wake of new figures showing NSW suffered a record $8 billion in poker machine losses last financial year,” Ms Bennett said.

Over 20 advocates and researchers are calling on the government to urgently implement major reforms to the Privacy Act in a joint open letter released today.

The signatories, which include leading experts on privacy and assistance services working with affected people, support urgent reforms to Australia’s outdated privacy legislation to protect people from data breaches and misuse.

NSW Premier Chris Minns should immediately scrap his needless trial of a gambling cashless card and introduce the card now, in the wake of new figures showing the State suffered a record $8 billion in poker machine losses last financial year.

The record loss figures affirms past evidence that spikes in gambling losses occur during times of financial stress and hardship.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Chief Advocate, Rev. Tim Costello, said Premier Minns could assist families hard hit by the cost-of-living crisis by immediately introducing a mandatory, pre-commitment gambling card.

The move to exempt lotteries from the credit card ban on gambling is disappointing and reflects the Federal Government’s failure to understand the nature and experience of gambling harm, the Alliance for Gambling Reform, CEO, Carol Bennett said.

Ms Bennett said, “Some lotteries, including games like KenoGO, offer people the chance to win millions of dollars every few minutes.  They run hundreds of games a day, creating the potential to cause great harm.  This harm will be exacerbated as lotteries increasingly move online.”

Poker machine losses in pubs and clubs across five States surged last financial year to $14.54 billion, easily eclipsing the losses suffered in 2018-19, the last full financial year uninterrupted by COVID restrictions.

The States that suffered the biggest spikes in losses were South Australia (up 34.6%), Queensland (up 33.6%) and New South Wales (up 23.7%). Victoria suffered an increase in losses of 12%.

The figures were collated for the Alliance by the Gambling and Social Determinants Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University show that the $14.5b in losses was 13.7% higher than 2018-19 the last full financial year not be impacted by COVID restrictions.

One major Australian industry super fund - which boasts one million members and which promotes itself as a responsible investor - holds more than $351 million in gambling-relating equities, according to new analysis by the Alliance for Gambling Reform.

One major Australian industry super fund - which boasts one million members and which promotes itself as a responsible investor - holds more than $351 million in gambling-relating equities, according to new analysis by the Alliance for Gambling Reform.

Joint Media release from Foundation for Alcohol and Research (FARE), the Alliance for Gambling Reform, and Food for Health Alliance: Public health organisations have welcomed the Federal Government's acknowledgement that more needs to be done to protect children through the ongoing Privacy Act Review, and look forward to opportunities to engage further in the detail relating to how we can best keep children safe online.

Federal and State Governments must introduce significant gambling harm reforms in the wake of new research that indicates a significant percentage of suicides across Australia are related to gambling.

The Federal Government must delay consideration of a raft of online gambling reforms – including a total ban on gambling advertising – until after the constitutional referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Chief Advocate, Rev. Tim Costello, said television executives, who are bitterly opposed to a gambling advertising ban, could use their support or opposition to the Indigenous Voice to parliament as a bargaining chip.

Media coverage of the Matilda’s World Cup exploits - which have been largely absent of gambling advertising - shows how the major sporting codes can thrive without bombarding fans with gambling ads.

The Andrews Government must fast-track its crackdown on poker machine operators after new figures show the State has suffered record annual losses of $3.021 billion.

The Chief Executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said while many of the Government’s proposed reforms to poker machines were welcome, there was no clear timeline for implementation.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has welcomed the changes to poker machine regulation in Victoria, declaring they will make a significant difference in reducing gambling harm in the State.

The Chief Advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Rev. Tim Costello, said Victorians have waited a very long time for meaningful and significant reforms such as this.

“These reforms appear to be very significant, especially the introduction of mandatory carded play with load up limit per time of no more than $100,” Rev. Costello said.

Public health groups are calling for an end to harmful marketing in sport as a new analysis shows a quarter of sponsorships of the 2023 State of Origin are by companies that profit from alcohol, gambling and unhealthy foods.

The analysis by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) found 16 harmful product sponsorships of the NSW and Queensland State of Origin Teams and the Series, including seven alcohol company sponsorships, seven unhealthy food and two gambling company sponsorships – 25 per cent of all sponsors.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has welcomed the national self-exclusion register, BetStop, as a long-overdue gambling harm reduction initiative.

“For far too long Australia has had an ineffective, patchwork of self-exclusion programs that have been poorly enforced. It has allowed the predatory gambling industry to continue to offer unethical inducements to people who have said they wanted to stop gambling” the Chief Executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said.

The Federal Government and the Opposition must commit to give bipartisan support to the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling that has called for a blanket ban to sports gambling implemented over three years.

The Chief Advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Rev. Tim Costello, said he also welcomed the call for a national strategy to combat gambling harm and the introduction of an online gambling regulator and ombudsman.

The Northern Territory Government must reject applications for 20 more poker machines to be introduced into Alice Springs if it is serious about tackling gambling harm and the concerns of the local community.

The chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said she welcomed the modest lowering of the cap on the number of poker machines in Alice Springs.

New analysis of online-gambling laws across the world has revealed Australia has one of the weakest regulatory regimes on the planet as many countries across Europe and Asia move to reduce gambling harm.

And our status as an international laggard on regulating online gambling is allowing the gambling industry to “groom” young people through the gamification of gambling and even offering free, unrestricted apps that mimic the look and sound of poker machines.

The record $450m AUSTRAC fine against Crown Casinos could fund more than a decade of critically lacking gambling harm reduction measures and support services, the chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, says.

Ms Bennett applauded the fine against Crown for money laundering, arguing it was a watershed moment that highlighted the value of a national regulator with teeth.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has applauded a private member’s bill by Federal MP Zoe Daniel that would ban the broadcasting of gambling advertisements on television, radio and streaming services.

The CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said the bill demonstrated political leadership that she hoped the Federal Government would heed as it considers reform in light of its inquiry into online gambling that is due to report soon.

Opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has rightly put a national spotlight on Australia’s sports gambling advertising crisis but his proposal for hour-long bans before and after live sport do not go far enough

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has welcomed a proposal to keep Canberra’s Molonglo Valley free of poker machines - commending it as an important way of protecting the community from some of the harms associated with gambling.

The campaign was launched by Canberra MLA, Dr Marisa Paterson today.

The Alliance Chief Executive, Carol Bennett, said the proposed pokies free zone showed political leadership and was a stark contrast to the ongoing lack of meaningful action across the Australian political landscape.

There is an urgent and critical need for Federal, State and Territory Governments to take urgent and critical action to combat gambling harm in Australia which is a hidden epidemic, a major symposium on gambling harm has heard.

The gambling epidemic in Australia costs individuals, families, and communities more than $25 billion annually – the highest per capita in the world.

Only a complete ban on gambling advertising will protect children from being directly targeted by the gambling industry, a major conference on preventing gambling harm has heard today.

Government plans to ban the use of credit for online gambling are welcome and will make a real difference in reducing the level of gambling harm in Australia. Hopefully, these long-overdue changes will be the start of real gambling reform in Australia, the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett says.

The Alliance has advocated for the ban on credit for online gambling arguing that existing laws to prohibit gambling on credit are a ‘Swiss cheese’ of loopholes and exceptions allowing too many Australians to drown in debt, often offered at very high interest rates.

Around 200 people from the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and gambling services sectors are attending an online event being hosted by the Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council (AADC) and Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) today to talk about the importance of implementing formal standards for services. The event comes in the wake of several high-profile cases across the country where clients were harmed by unregulated services.

The momentum for gambling reform is now greater than at any other time in Australian history, according to one of the nation’s most prominent and longest advocates for change, Rev Tim Costello.

The momentum for gambling reform is now greater than at any other time in Australian history, according to one of the nation’s most prominent and longest advocates for change, Rev Tim Costello.

Rev. Costello, who is the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Chief Advocate, said the March NSW election was a watershed in which gambling reform was for the first time a central policy issue. The Federal Parliamentary inquiry into online gambling is also shedding new light on the depth of Australia’s gambling problem and the greed and ruthlessness of the gambling industry.

The long awaited, long-overdue national gambling self-exclusion register is still not happening
despite years of promises, and it appears no closer to becoming a reality, the Alliance for Gambling
Reform chief executive, Carol Bennett, says.

The morally bankrupt practices of online gambling operators have been exposed at a parliamentary hearing that highlights the critical need for national leadership and regulation to curb the significant harm gambling causes in the Australian community.

Premier-elect Chris Minns and his team are to be commended for leading the ALP to victory after 12 years in opposition. We wish him and his team well as the new government of NSW.

Laws to prohibit gambling on credit are a ‘Swiss cheese’ of loop holes and exceptions that are allowing too many Australians to drown in debt, offered at very high interest rates.

The problem is particularly acute among young people who are ruthlessly targeted by online gambling companies and who are more likely to revert to credit to continue to gamble. Evidence shows young men (18-24) are the most prolific online gamblers and online is the fastest growing form of gambling in Australia.

Gambling reform advocates have condemned the decision to hold a Victorian Government-sponsored health jobs fair at Crown Casino, warning it highlights how blinkered our political leaders are to the massive health impact caused by gambling.

Banning political donations from the gambling industry is not enough to close loopholes that allow gambling executives ‘unfair’ and ‘privileged’ access to ministers who regulate the sector, according to the Alliance for Gambling Reform.

Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), which the gambling industry is heralding as a key harm minimisation tool, has been used internationally to actually increase losses and boost time spent on poker machines.

Facebook and Instagram are bombarding young people with targeted ads for alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food, new data shows, prompting calls for reform to protect young people from harmful digital marketing.

Alcohol and gambling companies and their lobby groups donated $2.165 million to Australia’s major political parties in 2021-22 representing a 40 per cent increase on the previous year, an analysis of disclosure returns published today by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) shows.

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) CEO Caterina Giorgi and Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) CEO Carol Bennett jointly called for political donations by alcohol and gambling companies to be banned to ensure that community views are prioritised in policy discussions about proposed reforms that would affect them.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has called on the Prime Minister to take immediate action against Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, in the wake of evidence that Sportsbet donated almost $19,000 to her on the eve of the last election.

The Alliance’s Chief Advocate, Tim Costello, said the public could no longer have faith that Rowland can effectively carry out her responsibilities as a key decision-maker on policies affecting Sportsbet as the minister who oversees the Interactive Gambling Act and the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has applauded the poker machine reforms outlined by Premier Perrottet, arguing they represent a watershed moment in harm minimisation.

“These reforms unveiled by Premier Perrottet today are the most significant and wide-ranging poker machine reforms that I have seen in more than 30 years of campaigning to limit gambling harm in communities across Australia, the Chief Advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello, said.