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The Federal Government must urgently act to close a loophole that excludes predatory online gambling advertising targeting children from being included in the nation’s basic online safety code.

Under current definitions the nation’s Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE) gambling advertising is not included among online harms such as hate speech, cyber-bullying and child sexual exploitation.

“The warp-speed growth of online gambling advertising – particularly targeting children and young people – means the government must act urgently to update its actions to protect people online,” the chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said.

The Chair of the Alliance for Gambling Reform has praised the achievements of its chief executive, Carol Bennett, in putting gambling harm ‘front and centre’ of the nation’s conscience.

Ms Bennett has this week announced her plans to leave the organisation, saying she was proud of what she was able to achieve in the two and half years in the role.

“Carol has worked tirelessly and successfully to highlight the terrible damage Australia’s gambling epidemic is inflicting on people, families and communities across the nation,” Alliance board chair, Sharon Dickson, said.

“Under Carol’s leadership and the work of Tim Costello, the board, staff and our supporters, AGR has been very successful in delivering real progress for gambling reform in Australia.”

The introduction of a mandatory pre-commitment carded gambling system in the ACT would be groundbreaking in reducing gambling harm and placing some limit on the predatory behaviour of a gambling industry that has cost Territorian’s more than $1.2 billion in losses over the last decade.

The chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said the ACT suffered staggering gambling losses which continued to spiral.

“For a small jurisdiction of under 500,000 people, gambling losses in the ACT are both staggering and tragic. Some $188m in losses were suffered in the last year – equating to an eye-watering $16m every month,” Ms Bennett said.

The operators of Melbourne’s Crown Casino are now ‘on notice’ that there must not be any further breach of its licence, after it received another reprieve by the State’s casino regulator.

The chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said Crown should make no mistake that it is ‘the last chance saloon’ for them to get their operations right and to protect consumers.

Gambling harm is a major public health issue in Australia and yet is beggars belief that the Federal Government doesn’t report on its expenditure to tackle gambling harm due to “commercial sensitivities”.

The CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said the bizarre situation demonstrated the power of the gambling industry and how it has captured government.

“We know investment into preventing and reducing gambling harm at a federal level is grossly lacking, but the lack of transparency on just how little the government invests in this critical public health issue is both disturbing and farcical,” Ms Bennett said.

The system that governs lobbyists’ access to our Federal parliamentarians is toothless, opaque and excludes an estimated 80% of lobbyists in Canberra, according to the Alliance’s submission to the Inquiry into Access to Parliament House by Lobbyists.

The CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said she was concerned that powerful vested interests from the gambling industry, and their allies, were having “a growing and potentially insidious influence in the corridors of government”.

The voters of Dunkley have honoured Peta Murphy’s legacy by electing a Labor candidate, now it’s time for the Albanese Government to do the same and accept all of the recommendations of the online gambling inquiry that she fought so hard to deliver, even in her last days.

“Certainly, the cost of living was a critical issue in this by-election but so was the white-hot anger in the community about the unchecked power of the gambling industry and the damage it is causing families, especially those doing it tough who are so cynically targeted by gambling companies,” the Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello.

The Federal Government should step in to stop the Northern Territory government continuing to offer a tax haven to multi-billion-dollar foreign online gambling operators. It makes no sense for the Northern Territory government to effectively be the online gambling regulator for the nation.

The festive season is ‘a trigger’ for a spike in gambling, increasing the financial toll and stress many families will experience this Christmas, according to the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett.

“All the research tells us gambling increases in times of economic hardship and Christmas time brings financial stress, family tension, loneliness, additional free time … all of these are triggers for gambling,” Ms Bennett said.

The gambling lobby’s influence is clear in the ‘watered-down’ bill to ban gambling on credit passed by the Senate, the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said.

And it is profoundly telling that the Albanese Government and opposition would not contemplate an amendment from independent Senator David Pocock to the bill that would stop political parties from receiving political donations from gambling interests – when it accepted similar prohibitions on tobacco only earlier this week, she said.

The gambling industry hires the most lobbying firms across Australia, more than double that of any other harmful product industry according to new analysis of the Federal lobbyist register.

It reveals that the gambling industry has access to up to 280 lobbyists seeking to influence our Federal political leaders.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Federal MP for Dunkley Peta Murphy.

“We’ve lost a real champion for gambling reform,” the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, said.

More than 70% of Australians believe there is too much gambling advertising in sport and want it to be banned, according to new polling released by the Alliance for Gambling Reform.

The polling, which involved 1,004 people aged over 18 years, showed 77.6% believed there was too much gambling advertising in sport, while 71.3% thought gambling advertising should be banned from sport completely.

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.

The not-for-profit agency at the centre of a “David vs Goliath” battle for poker machine reform in NSW has criticised as ‘obscene’ reports the gambling industry has amassed a $10 million fighting fund to stop changes to reduce gambling harm and to stop billions of dollars from the proceeds of crime being fed into poker machines across NSW.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform, the leading advocate for gambling reform, has also condemned revelations that the gambling and alcohol lobby boosted its political donations by 40% last year to give $2.1.m to political parties – in order to buy influence and stall real gambling reform.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has released a definitive position paper on the best model for a cashless gambling card, warning NSW now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get poker machine reform right.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has condemned the campaign of dirty tricks, misinformation and bullying that has been launched in a desperate bid to stave off real reform of poker machines across NSW. The proposed reforms put forward by the NSW Crime Commission and various inquiries into the gambling industry promise to thwart money laundering and other crimes and significantly reduce gambling harm across our communities.

More than 430,000 Australian children are likely to be gambling with almost 40,000 categorised as risky gamblers and 14,400 categorised as problem gamblers, the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett, says.

And the industry’s own figures show that Australians bet online 20% more than any other nation on the planet and the size of our online gambling market ranks third in the world (in actual dollars, not on a per capita basis).

The nation’s leading gambling reform advocacy group, the Alliance for Gambling Reform, has launched a Giving Tuesday appeal for funding of its work to reduce gambling harm.

The Alliance is in a David vs Goliath battle against powerful gambling interests such as Clubs NSW to limit the damage being done in communities right across Australia. The current push by the Alliance for cashless gambling across Australia follows the NSW Crime Commission findings that billions of dollars from the proceeds of crime and money laundering were being poured into the State’s poker machines.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has today
announced Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) has been found to be
non-compliant at 80% of its 77 Victorian venues that offer gambling. ALH has not
been adhering to requirements aimed to reduce gambling harm.
Rev. Tim Costello said the findings are appalling and the maximum fine available, a
dismal $1.35 million, is a drop in the ocean for ALH who operate over 12,000 poker
machines across the country.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has called for a comprehensive national approach to combat gambling harm in Australia with losses at world-record levels, devastating families and communities and facilitating organised crime, fraud and money laundering.

In its submission to the Federal online gambling inquiry, the Alliance for Gambling Reform said the lack of effective regulation of gambling promotions, inducements, advertising and sponsorships has enabled Australian culture to be undermined by an industry encouraging and profiting from harmful gambling.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform welcomes the maximum fine for Crown’s unethical
treatment of people at risk of, or experiencing gambling harm, following findings from the Royal Commission into Crown Melbourne.

The findings show that Crown breached its obligations a staggering 4.8 million times over 12
years. Many of these obligations were around ensuring people are not using the poker machines for long periods of time (over 18 hours).

The alarming findings of the NSW Crime Commission underscore the critical need for the NSW Government to urgently introduce a cashless gambling card across all its pubs, clubs and casinos the chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello, says.

Mandatory closing hours for poker machine venues – aimed at minimising gambling harm – are being circumvented with big operators exploiting a loophole to stagger closing times across multiple venues to ensure gambling continues 24 hours a day, a new policy paper has revealed.

Poker machine losses in the ACT for those suffering gambling harm could be reduced up to 10-fold if the territory introduced maximum $1 bets to replace the current maximum bet which is among the highest in Australia.

Canberrans lose more than $143m a year on poker machines according to the latest available data (2021) and the evidence shows that the current $10 maximum bet per spin on poker machines dramatically increases gambling harm.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has welcomed the recommendations from the Gotterson review that uncovered appalling failures at Star Casinos in Queensland.

The Alliance’s chief advocate, Tim Costello, said it was significant that 8 out of the 12 recommendations focused on harm minimisation recommendations. He also said the move to increase to $100m the penalty a regulator could impose on a Qld casino operator had rightly been brought into line with Victoria and NSW.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform welcomes the announcement today by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs announcing an inquiry into online gambling and its impacts.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has praised the Tasmanian Government’s move to introduce
a mandatory cashless card for all poker machines, hailing it as a significant move to reduce
harm and to combat money laundering.

The Australian public can have no confidence in State Governments properly regulating
casinos, a fact highlighted by the latest inquiry which has found the Star Entertainment
Group unfit to hold its Sydney Casino licence.

Australians lost more than $11.4 billion to poker machines in pubs and clubs across five states last year, according to the first comprehensive, national analysis of available loss figures which cements Australia as the world’s biggest losers to poker machines per person.

Alarming potential to breach the privacy of people who are vulnerable.

Pubs, bars and casinos are using facial recognition technology (FRT) to monitor customers and
exclude those with addictions – despite warnings from human rights experts that these technologies violate privacy laws.

Queenslanders are losing big on poker machines, losing more than $250m a month, which represents a jump of up to 33% on losses compared to 12 months ago, the chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Rev. Tim Costello, said.

Soldiers experience higher rates of gambling addictions and suicide; both are exacerbated by pokies in RSL Clubs

More than $66 billion has been lost through poker machines in Victoria since their introduction 30 years ago today.

More than $66 billion has been lost through poker machines in Victoria since their introduction 30 years ago today.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform released their analysis of the staggering losses today, on the 30th anniversary since the first poker machines were introduced on 17 July 1992 at the Dorset Gardens Hotel in Croydon.

After resisting genuine reform for decades, the latest move by ClubsNSW to allow family members to ban people who have suffered gambling harm, is a cynical move designed to avoid real reform, the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief advocate, Tim Costello, said.

After resisting genuine reform for decades, the latest move by ClubsNSW to allow family members to ban people who have suffered gambling harm, is a cynical move designed to avoid real reform, the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s chief advocate, Tim Costello, said.

Major concerns over lack of transparency and accountability

The NSW Government must move urgently to increase the pitiful maximum $1 million fine the regulator can fine casino operators in the wake of the ‘bitterly disappointing’ decision by the regulator to give Crown approval to open its gaming operations.

Major concerns over lack of transparency and accountability

The decision to hand the foreign-owned Blackstone Group the license to operate Crown Casino means there will be less transparency and greater risk of gambling harm to the community.

The record $80m fine imposed on Crown Casino shines a spotlight on the pitiful penalties available to regulators in response to evidence of money laundering, organised crime, fraud and foreign interference at Star Casino.

The record $80m fine imposed on Crown Casino was absolutely appropriate and should be followed by other sanctions in response to the appalling revelations that emerged out of the Royal Commission.

The groundswell for greater political integrity in Australian politics must as a priority tackle our rotten system of political donations, according to the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello.

The failure of the major political parties to campaign on gambling reform, such as restricting sports gambling advertising to protect children, is appalling, according to the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello.

Today the Alliance is calling for significant harm reduction measures to be implemented after a record $257.3m was lost to poker machines in Victoria in just one month.

Today the Alliance is calling for Crown WA to have its casino licence revoked, in a way that minimises impact on staff and the community. The Western Australian Government must also implement all the recommendations of the report into Crown as soon as possible. No holder of any future casino licence anywhere in Australia can be too big to fail.

The Alliance is today congratulating the move by the Rabbitohs and Bulldogs in joining Reclaim the Game. But now we need them to take the logical next step and divest from the poker machines in their clubs which inflict untold harm on the very communities they represent.

In December 2021 and January 2022 Victoria shattered records that would’ve been best left untouched. Data published by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission showed losses from poker machines was well over $250 million in just one month.

With Crown Resorts announcing today they would accept the Blackstone takeover bid, the Alliance is calling for stronger legislation and a regulator with teeth to properly hold them accountable.

With SportsBet being fined $2.5 million in penalties and forced to refund customers another $1.2 million after breaching Australia’s spam laws, the Alliance for Gambling Reform has today called for further action.

With the announcement that Victor Dominello will lose the Gambling portfolio in the NSW cabinet reshuffle the Alliance for Gambling Reform is calling out the silencing of one of the most effective advocates for tackling gambling harm we’ve seen in over 25 years.

NSW citizens should be shocked at the news that the gambling industry’s influence extends to picking and choosing Ministers, says the Alliance for Gambling Reform. Victor Dominello, who has worked hard for two years simply to bring in overdue reforms to reduce gambling harm, faces losing this key public health portfolio in alarming news today.

With further revelations this morning confirming that money laundering is widespread in pubs and clubs across the state, the Alliance for Gambling Reform is now calling for a public judicial inquiry.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform welcomes the passage of the Casino Amendment Bill 2021 today in the Victorian Legislative Council. While the Bill is a welcome step in the right direction, much more is needed to be done to protect the wellbeing of communities across the state.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform says a NSW Crime Commission inquiry into money laundering via poker machines is much needed, but a lack of focus on the role of pub and club management in this scandal is most disappointing.

Today the Alliance for Gambling Reform and survivors with lived experience of gambling harm will gather at Victorian Parliament to meet with government, opposition and crossbench MPs in the wake of the Crown Royal Commission and the upcoming passage of the Casino Amendment Bill 2021.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has today revealed that 98% of council candidates surveyed in the upcoming NSW Local Government election committed to implementing measures to reduce gambling harm in their communities if elected.

With the Melbourne Cup upon us, The Alliance for Gambling Reform has today renewed its calls for an end to gambling ads in wake of the revelation that over 440,000 sports gambling related advertisements have been aired this year alone.