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Parents shouldn’t be forced to ‘opt out’ of gambling ads to protect their kids
2 Apr 2026
Parents should not have to ‘opt out’ of gambling ads that are bombarding their kids online.
The Prime Minsters announcement today that the government plans to make parents ‘opt out’ of gambling ads have been criticised by the Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Chief Advocate, Tim Costello.
“Not a single parent in this country would opt in to their kids seeing gambling ads – that’s why it’s opt out – many people will forget or not realise, and it just puts greater onus on parents to always be logging in and opting out of countless apps and sites, it’s ridiculous,”” Rev. Costello said.
“We know parents struggle to keep up with all a constantly changing digital landscape, and like the social media ban, kids pretty quickly find a way around these things, that’s my biggest worry”, he said.
“The government should not claim they are protecting kids from gambling advertising by asking parents to opt out. The onus should be squarely on the gambling companies and the platforms.”
The Alliance is also critical of other reported government plans such as allowing wagering companies to broadcast three gambling ads per hour between 6:00am and 8:30 pm. “Imagine 3 cigarette ads per hour”, Mr Costello said.
“The live sport ban does nothing to break the nexus between gambling and sport as the Prime Minister has said he wants to do, this doesn’t change the status quo and leaves the before and after match programs open to screen ads - and we know kids are watching those - and they should be considered part of the sporting broadcast for these purposes.”
This is not even tinkering around the edges.
“If as the Prime Minister has said, his government wants to minimise children’s exposure to wagering advertising, these initiatives won’t work. Such a piece-meal approach fails our children,” Rev Costello said.
“Onthe whole, this falls short of the recommendations of the multi-party parliamentary committee recommendations led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.”
Research reveals that 600,000 young people under 18 are already gambling, spending $18m annually. If gambling were a sport, it would be one of the most popular sport among Australia’s youth.
The Alliance is calling on the government to introduce all 31 recommendations of the Murphy Report. This includes:
Ø Ban all gambling ads on all broadcast and online platforms so children are no longer exposed to gambling on their screens.
Ø Ban gambling inducements and inducement advertising, stopping companies from offering free bets and promotions that trap people, young and old, trying to walk away from gambling
Ø Establish a national regulator with a mandate to reduce harm
“Australian children deserve to grow up in a country that puts their wellbeing before corporate profits,” Rev. Costello said.