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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.