New research undertaken by Federation University in collaboration with the Coroners Court of Victoria, examined the Victorian Suicide Register which revealed at least 184 suicides were directly related to gambling. There were another 17 gambling-attributed suicides by "affected others" such as family members.

Carol Bennett, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, told The New Daily that Australians are the biggest online gamblers in the world.

“This is great legislation in the sense it addresses the need for a ban on credit, digital wallets and digital currencies,” she said.

“These are things that mean people are gambling with money they simply don’t have to lose.”

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive Carol Bennett said her organisation would welcome improvements.

She said a mishmash of different jurisdictions and gambling companies running their own programs had led to huge failures.

“There is a mismatch between the technology and some of these very outdated schemes that don’t really do what they were intended to do or have found to be in breach of the very purpose they were set up,” Bennett said.

“It really is an area that is very important to people who are harmed by gambling ... They need to feel confident in the system and, at the moment, it’s hard to say that.”

Alliance CEO Carol Bennett speaks with James Valentine, on ABC Sydney Breakfast, welcoming the introduction of BetStop, how it works, and what more needs to be done from here. #BetStop #GamblingReform

It's taken eight years of campaigning, but a national self-exclusion programme for people gambling too much online is up and running from today.

It's called BetStop and it's supposed to reduce the growing harm associated with online gambling.

But some groups are calling for more to be done.

Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello is full of praise for Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' recently announced pokies reforms. Now he wants other leaders to follow suit.

The Victorian government has introduced new restrictions to poker machines including a pre-commitment limit of $100.

Channel 10 reporter Daniel Sutton ran this story last night about the introduction of BetStop. It includes an appearance from Alliance CEO Carol Bennett who commented the register is ‘long overdue’.
Alliance Chief Advocate Tim Costello has welcomed the introduction.

Alliance CEO Carol Bennett comments on the legislation to be introduced by the Anthony Albanese Labor Government to Parliament today which include a ban on credit card payments and fines for companies who don’t enforce it. While these reforms are significant, we would like to see them include lotteries ABC Gold Coast

New research has shed light on the link between gambling and suicide, after analysis of Coroner's Court cases in Victoria.

Advocates for gambling reform say it supports anecdotal evidence of what they're seeing on the ground, and they're calling for urgent action from state and federal governments.

Alliance CEO Carol Bennett joined Bill Woods on 2GB Sydney to discuss the ‘new’ signage laws in NSW. “The Irony is that this was already enabled under the Gambling Act of 2001, so it’s a bit of nonsense to suggest it’s a new measure.”

The ACT should be among the first jurisdictions in Australia to introduce significant gambling reform in the shape of a mandatory cashless gambling card.

The move would be groundbreaking, representing a major blow to a predatory gambling industry that costs Australians more than $27 billion in losses every year - more per capita than any other country on the planet.

Tim Costello has rejected claims from commercial broadcasters that a total ban on gambling ads could threaten their viability, arguing the true “existential crisis” is allowing “grooming of kids by these ads”.

The chief advocate of the alliance for gambling reform has urged Labor and the Coalition to back a total ban on gambling advertisements, acknowledging they are “very worried about taking on channels Seven, Nine and 10” but a bipartisanship push could ensure they “can’t be picked off” in the face of intense lobbying.

Endevour Group's call for state governments to implement a nationally coordinated FRT scheme is scary in the absence of appropriate regulation and controls. Alliance CEO Carol Bennett said “I don’t think the state gambling regulators have had their eyes on the ball when it comes to monitoring these matters like how data or facial recognition technology is used."

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive officer, Carol Bennett said this is essential especially when Greater Dandenong is facing a gambling related harm crisis.

“Gambling harms disproportionately impact a community who’re more vulnerable and City of Greater Dandenong has large number of vulnerable groups.

“As a local council, Greater Dandenong council has shown real leadership in supporting the community to resolve some of those harms.”

The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Kate Seselja says a new self-exclusion register will enable people to be proactive in protecting themselves from online gambling companies.

“We have people who have been impacted for so long now, and they might self-exclude from one company,” Ms Sesejla told Sky News Australia.

“It’s just an exhaustive process.

“This is a one-stop solution, not only for people experiencing gambling harm but for those who want to proactively protect themselves from it.”