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13/082022

Carol Bennett
Chief Executive Officer
News from our CEO
It’s been a busy time here at the Alliance with more public attention focussed on gambling and its harms than ever before. A huge thank you to you for your continued support!
The Alliance would like to share a few of the things we’ve been up to. Here’s a quick whip around of what’s been happening. As always, we appreciate your feedback and insights and if you would like to support our work you can do so here
Out and About
On Tuesday, June 14, we hosted a successful fundraising event, “An evening with Tim Costello”. The evening focused on what we can do to stamp out sports gambling ads, and shared powerful stories of the lived experience of gambling harm.
We also attended the National Australian Local Government Association conference in Canberra, working with many of our Leadership Councils to denounce gambling harm and work towards offering alternative late-night options.
The event was attended by Carol Bennett (CEO), Kasuni Mendis (Councils Gambling Harm Support Officer) and Board member Susan Rennie.
In other local government news, we are working closely with Kingston City Council, in an effort to close a planning loophole enabling close proximity of gambling venues and supermarkets.
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Alliance staff with representatives from Kingston City Council at the ALGA conference
Campaign Updates

We’ve been keeping abreast of the Royal Commissions into Crown and Star Casinos.
We’ve welcomed the Australian Communications and Media’s (ACMA’s) actions towards a National Self Exclusion Register and Hawthorn Football Club’s divestment form Poker machines.
We’ve supported the Victorian Gaming Minister’s new Gambling harm minimisation measures,
We supported the Mparntwe/Alice Springs community in its campaign to stop new poker machines in their community with a petition and call for submissions.
We eagerly await the results of the NSW government’s White Paper on gambling harm minimisation

Voices for Gambling Reform -
"A journey from harm to empowerment"
In June, Anna Bardsley, Paul Fung and Carolyn Crawford presented A journey from harm to empowerment at the 2022 NZ International Gambling Conference.
They spoke about their work within Voices for Gambling Reform, a key program of AGR that supports and empowers people impacted by gambling harm to be powerful advocates for change.
Too often “consumers” are engaged in ways that are shallow and disrespectful of their knowledge and expertise, instead of being given meaningful decision-making power and being included in organisational power structures.
The workshop invited participants to do better in this area.

Submissions
This month, we provided submissions to the NSW Crime Commission clubs and pubs inquiry into money laundering, input to the Vic Department of Justice for the Royal Commission legislation and the ACT government on lower bets and credit limits inquiry.
We are currently working on two major casino inquiry submissions in both Queensland and South Australia. We will engage our Voices for Gambling Reform group to bring lived experience to the fore.
Our
Social Media
Here are some of our most popoular stories on social media.
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Gambling Lobby Scored Big While Reform Stalled
25 April 2025
While three-quarters of Australians supported a gambling ad ban, politicians accepted $245,000 worth of sports tickets—many from leagues opposing the ban. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese received $29,000 in freebies, mostly for his favourite NRL team. Independent Senator David Pocock called it out: "the level of soft diplomacy revealed by this analysis of declared gifts to politicians is deeply concerning."
The ban is now shelved—proof of the gambling industry's deep influence in Australian sport and politics.

Albanese used captain’s call to avoid messy brawl over gambling ads
23 April 2025
Despite more than a year of work and pressure, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shelved a proposed clampdown on gambling ads – overriding his own minister, Michelle Rowland, to avoid upsetting media and sports bosses.
“He threw her [Rowland] under a bus,” said The Alliance's Tim Costello. “V’landys is the prime minister when it comes to gambling. He won on this one.”
Rowland’s plan included a cap on TV ads, bans around live sport, and restrictions online – real steps to reduce gambling harm. Instead, Albanese sided with power players like the NRL and AFL, again putting profits before people.

Gambling Industry Targeting Aussie Kids—600,000 Teens Drawn In
17 April 2025
One in three Australian kids aged 12–17 are gambling—losing over $18 million a year. The Alliance's CEO Martin Thomas warns, “There is evidence that the gambling industry targets kids as young as 14 years old through social media... It is both alarming and tragic to understand that the number of teenagers gambling under the legal age would fill the MCG six times over.”
The Alliance is demanding political leaders commit to a ban on gambling ads and enact all Murphy Inquiry recommendations.

One in Three Kids Are Gambling—Yet Still No Political Will for a Ban
24 April 2025
On Front Page 94.7, The Pulse, The Alliance CEO Martin Thomas discussed staggering new data: “The latest research from the Australian Institute says that one in three underage kids are 12 to 17 gambling. It’s one in three—600,000 young kids.”
Despite this crisis, Martin says, “Polling shows that 76% of all Australians want a full gambling ad ban,” yet both major parties remain silent.
He exposed the real blockers: “closed door lobbying,” political donations, and “a million gambling ads a year.” The Alliance is calling for urgent reform.
✊ Join the fight. Support real change. Donate:

A Harsh Easter Reality for Some Aussie Families
20 April 2025
This Easter, some children may miss out on the joy of an egg hunt—not because of rising electricity bills, but because gambling losses are draining their families’ budgets even faster. As household finances buckle under the pressure, gambling is becoming a more costly burden than keeping the lights on.
Support The Alliance in tackling gambling harm and protecting Aussie families. Donate today.

Bookies Regulating Themselves? NT Commission Exposed as Industry Insiders Oversee Billions
16 April 2025
Australia loses over $25 billion a year to gambling—and our online gambling industry is still being regulated by just six people in the Northern Territory. Several of them have direct ties to the industry they oversee.
The Chair of the NT Racing and Wagering Commission admitted he has “attended the Darwin Cup as a guest” of corporate bookmakers. The NT Racing Minister also accepted gifts from Sportsbet, Tabcorp, and the Darwin Turf Club.
Tim Costello from The Alliance says: “Bookies will always go to the place where the regulation is weakest… [It] explains why Australia has the greatest per capita gambling losses in the world.”
Mark Kempster, now an advocate with The Alliance after losing $100,000 to gambling harm, says the NT commission is overwhelmed: “They don’t have the right resources to actually undertake regulation of a whole national industry.”
A federal report recommended a national regulator “with the sole purpose of reducing harm”—yet the Albanese government hasn’t acted.

You can also see all the latest media featuring the Alliance for Gamlbing Reform via our website.
You can also view our latest Media Releases.

Independent Reviews into casinos operating in Queensland and South Australia are now underway. AGR has worked to achieve input to NSW, WA and Victorian Inquiries to date.
Your financial support will enable us to provide timely and high quality advice and advocacy, informed by expert evidence-based harm reduction policy recommendations and the input of people with lived-experience of gambling harm.

Alliance for Gambling Reform is proud to partner with Gathered Here to offer you the opportunity to write your Will for free (plus free & unlimited updates of your Will for life).
If you don't have a legal will, you can get a free, simple online will through Gathered Here.
Bequests can also be made to the Alliance for Gambling Reform to continue our vital work.