A 16-year-old reportedly gambled more than $20,000 across Sydney’s Crown and Star casinos over five months using fake ID.

He visited Crown 19 times, reached silver membership status and was even served complimentary alcohol before finally being caught.

Crown has been fined $1.75 million and The Star $500,000.

If casinos can’t identify a teenager after 19 visits, while rewarding him with status and alcohol, how can gambling companies claim they’ll protect young people across gambling apps used by millions?

Our kids deserve real protection from gambling harm - not slogans.

We’re delighted to announce Sunita Bose as the incoming CEO of The Alliance.

Sunita brings more than 20 years of leadership across advocacy, social impact and the not-for-profit sector, including senior roles with UNICEF Australia, Oxfam and Change.org, and six years leading DIGI.

Her experience building coalitions and driving policy reform will be invaluable as The Alliance enters its next chapter.

Sunita says: “An alliance of organisations has been sounding the alarm on the effects of gambling harm decades; I'm inspired by the prospect of working with them and the Alliance for Gambling Reform team to influence such a high-impact issue at an inflection point for reform.”

We also thank outgoing CEO Martin Thomas for his outstanding contribution and leadership.

Alliance Voices Advocate Mark Kempster has condemned the government’s gambling reforms, warning they leave Australians exposed to continued gambling harm.

“We feel completely abandoned by this government. We feel like they don't really care about our lives to be honest.”

Mark says gambling ads and inducements will continue, while the industry remains without a national regulator. He fears the three-year wait before the reforms are reviewed will allow devastating harm to continue.

“I'll keep fighting for it.”

The Alliance will keep pushing for reforms that put people before gambling industry profits.

Please donate to support The Alliance and our fight to reduce gambling harm.

The tentative deal on gambling advertising reforms does not match the scale of the harm.

The Alliance, as well as several crossbenchers, are pushing for stronger action in line with the Murphy report, including banning inducements, phasing out gambling advertising and establishing a national regulator.

As The Alliance Chief Advocate Tim Costello said: “We got there with tobacco. We will get there but it will be a much longer flight.”

Australians deserve reforms that put public health ahead of gambling industry interests.

Listen on ABC Radio: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/am/am/106974316

The Alliance Chief Advocate Tim Costello has criticised the government’s proposed reforms for failing to protect children and separate gambling from sport.

“This is a massive missed opportunity. It fails to protect kids, it fails to delink gambling and sport. They were the two things the Prime Minister said his bill would do. And most importantly, it does not even mention a national regulator when we have the greatest losses and harm per capita than anywhere in the world.”

Australia needs stronger action to prevent gambling harm.

Anglican Churches from across Australia are calling for the Murphy Report’s recommendations to be fully implemented to protect young people and families.

“The Murphy recommendations give a sensible and balance blueprint for gambling regulation.

They protect our children and families. They must be implemented in full — there are no excuses for not doing so.

Anglican Churches from around Australia have been meeting in Melbourne and without dissent, we have agreed that the Murphy report should be adopted in full for ‘the welfare and public health of our nation’s young people and other vulnerable persons’.”

Kanishka Raffel, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney

Writing in The Guardian, former independent MP and journalist Zoe Daniel argues that Australia’s proposed gambling reforms fall far short of what families need.

Alliance Voices Advocate Mark Kempster told the Senate inquiry:

“I know dozens of examples of what Luke said as well, with the people I’ve worked with. That is a regular occurrence. Those types of things happen across nearly all the major VIP programs that I’ve seen,”

Zoe Daniel’s article highlights the devastating consequences of gambling harm and the urgent need for stronger regulation and accountability.

This week’s Senate inquiry into gambling reform heard testimony that gambling companies used inducements including escorts, drugs, exclusive event access and bonus bets disproportionate to a person’s income to keep people gambling.

These practices may not be isolated. If you or someone you know has experienced a gambling company offering similar inducements, your story could help expose harmful industry practices and strengthen the case for reform.

Jesse placed more than 15,000 gambles worth nearly $1 million. One company gave him $43,700 in bonus gambles in just over two years, alongside free tickets, food and drinks.

VIP managers regularly added bonuses to his account, including when Jesse indicated he was struggling with his gambling. The benefits only disappeared when he stopped gambling.

Now, Jesse fears the government’s reforms will fail to prevent others from being drawn down the same path. He says inducements should have been banned outright, as recommended by the bipartisan Murphy inquiry.

“It would take away the shiny, dangling carrot that lures us in beyond our control,” Jesse says. “For me, that would have been a real sign that people were being put first.”

Alliance Voices Advocate Mark Kempster also warns the reforms “will do absolutely nothing to stop the companies from preying on people”.

Three years after Peta Murphy called for a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising and inducements, Labor’s reforms leave major gaps.

Her husband, Rod Glover, said: “The final package falls well short of the Murphy Report recommendations, which remain the benchmark for comprehensive reform.”

The changes will restrict some gambling advertising, but they stop short of the full protections Murphy recommended. Australians, especially children and young people, deserve stronger action against an industry that profits from gambling harm.

The fight for comprehensive reform is not over.

The Alliance has awarded its inaugural Lifetime Achievement award to Brisbane-based campaigner, Janina Anstee, to recognise her decades of advocating for gambling reform.

Ms Anstee has campaigned tirelessly for gambling reform since 1987 after her husband Leslie took his own life after a 40-year gambling addiction that began at age 13 and left the family in debt.

Alliance Chair, Angela Tillmanns presented the award to Ms Anstee to recognise her amazing contribution.

“Her demands for change all those years ago in 1988 closely mirror many of the 31 unanimous recommendations of Parliament's 2023 "Murphy Report" into online gambling harm — meaning Janina was making the case for reform 35 years before Parliament caught up,” Ms Tillmanns said.

Ms Anstee said it was time for the Prime Minister to “pull his head out of the sand”.

Federal parliament is passing new gambling reforms, including tighter advertising restrictions, stronger opt-out rules and a three-year review. But critics say the package still fails to deliver the comprehensive protections Australians need.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie warned: “Minor tweaks and piecemeal amendments to this bad bill won’t address the wave of gambling harm washing over this country. It won’t protect children. It won’t break the nexus between gambling and sport. It won’t stop the suicides.”

Australia needs reforms that put people, families and children ahead of gambling industry interests.

The two major parties have failed to seize the opportunity to protect Australian families from predatory gambling companies, by striking a deal to pass ‘weak’ and ‘timid’ gambling reforms.

The Chief Advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello, said the deal struck between the Albanese Government and the Opposition has blown a golden opportunity for real reforms and instead families and children will still be exposed to harrowing gambling harm.

“The Senate Inquiry into these reforms highlighted shocking cases in which gambling companies were abusing their power, offering illicit drugs, escorts and free luxury accommodation in order to keep people betting – even when their betting was completely out of control,” Rev. Costello said.

“The reforms that will now go through the Federal Parliament are cosmetic over substance and reflect the major party's intent to prioritise power, money and vested interests over the welfare of Australians who lose more to gambling than any other country on the planet on a per capita basis.”

Alliance Chief Advocate Tim Costello has exposed disturbing allegations about how vulnerable people can be targeted with gambling inducements.

Giving evidence referenced at the Senate inquiry, Tim said:

“He was flown to events from the Gold Coast to Melbourne. He was put up. He was given escorts. He was asked what drugs you like.”

The evidence has intensified pressure on the Federal Government to strengthen gambling reforms and tackle inducements that can keep people gambling despite serious harm.

Australians deserve protections that put people before gambling industry profits.

The Senate inquiry has exposed disturbing allegations about the inducements used to keep gamblers spending.

Former NRL player Luke Bateman testified that, as a 23-year-old, he was flown to race days where VIP managers supplied him with alcohol and cocaine while he gambled away thousands.

The Alliance’s Chief Advocate Tim Costello also accused Tabcorp and Sportsbet of offering drugs and escorts to keep gamblers gambling.

These are serious allegations, and they demand scrutiny. Gambling companies should not be allowed to exploit people through inducements that contribute to gambling harm.

Alliance Chief Advocate Tim Costello has strongly condemned suggestions the government could walk away from gambling reform rather than negotiate stronger protections.

“That is absolutely shocking if they're seriously considering that. And the public won't wear it.”

Tim says the proposed legislation still allows three gambling ads an hour on free-to-air television and leaves people watching sport on streaming services exposed unless they actively opt out.

The Alliance is calling for meaningful, evidence-based reform, including stronger restrictions on gambling advertising, a ban on inducements and better protection for children and people experiencing gambling harm.

This is a critical opportunity to put public health ahead of gambling industry interests. The government must return to the table and deliver reform that genuinely protects Australian families and communities. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast-episode/rnf-friendless-gambling-reform-bill-faces-uncertain-future/sbouly0le

Donate to The Alliance and help us campaign for stronger gambling laws. https://www.agr.org.au/donate-2026-m-sm