NEWSLETTERS

It is now eight months on from when Peta Murphy delivered her multiparty inquiry report into online gambling and we are still awaiting a response from the Federal government to the 31 unanimous recommendations. We remain hopeful that Peta’s parliamentary committee together with a large contingent of gambling reformers will be heard, with a full and comprehensive ban on gambling advertising among many other important reforms that have been neglected and are long overdue.

There is usually a lull in Canberra over the winter break from parliament, but for those of us working towards gambling reform, this has been a very busy period. The Federal Parliament is now focusing on gambling reform, especially in the wake of the federal inquiry into online gambling and its impact on those experiencing gambling harm. Change is on the way.

Tim and I had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese to discuss the reforms and the Alliance’s views on the government’s response to the inquiry report. We have also met with the Leader of the Federal Opposition, Peter Dutton; Office of the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland; Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth; federal crossbench MPs and Greens Senator Janet Rice to discuss the way forward on online gambling.

There is so much potential for gambling reform on so many fronts and featuring highly on both State and Commonwealth agendas. The chorus of voices calling for our political leaders to step up and do something to remove the hold that gambling has over every aspect of our lives from our sport to advertising, online to our phones – we are saturated in availability of gambling products at every turn.

What a year it has been for gambling reform! Our Annual Report 2022-23 outlined a huge number of achievements, all of which are slowly pushing us towards a public health approach to addressing the huge losses and harms experienced by Australians. Unfortunately, we are still by far the country with the largest per capita losses anywhere in the world.

Perhaps the most poignant achievement this year was the ‘Murphy Report’: You Win Some You Lose More delivered to the Federal Government in June. While we still await a response to the critical 31 recommendations from the Federal Government, the clarity and truth of this multi-party report is undeniable. We have called on the federal government to respond to the Murphy report as a matter of urgency and supported Dr Monique Ryan’s bill to increase political transparency.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform is making a difference. We have seen real progress in gambling reform thanks to the tireless work and support of a growing movement for change. The last few weeks alone has seen:

three private members bills tabled in federal parliament to ban gambling ads

significant fines imposed on Crown Casino (to date now around $750m in total!)

a decision by the NT government not to grant 20 additional poker machine licenses in Alice Springs with community campaigning at an all-time high

a focus on the role of sporting codes in promoting gambling

calls for strengthened privacy legislation to protect our kids from gambling companies collecting their data (and we join in a Digital Rights Watch campaign)

several motions from Councils adopted at the Australian Local Government Association conference to reduce gambling harm

a campaign by local MLA Marisa Paterson in Canberra to make a new development ‘pokies free’


And then the Guardian banned all forms of gambling advertising globally – which meant not taking an estimated millions of dollars in advertising revenue!

Our first newsletter of the year highlights what has been an eventful start to the year, especially in the lead up to the NSW state election. Gambling is a key election issue, and we have seen more meaningful debate and commitment to gambling reform in the space of a month than would usually occur over a year!

We have seen Premier Perrottet commit to cashless gambling, albeit with limitations including the timeframes too long and default limits not enforced. Opposition leader Chris Minns is maintaining his commitment to another limited trial of cashless gambling in some pubs and clubs. Greens and some key independents have committed to cashless gambling.

Gambling Harm Awareness Week in October provided a good opportunity to celebrate progress being made around the country on gambling reform, while pushing for further reform addressing the escalating national losses and other gambling harms.


And with poker machine losses at $14.5b across five states - 13.7% higher than the last full pre-covid year 2018-19, Australians are coming in first as the world biggest gambling losers by a mile. It all seems at odds with the current cost of living crisis, but in another way makes sense that when people are feeling pressure they might be seeking out a quick win or a way to escape the daily reality. Either way, as the tagline says ‘chances are you are about to lose’ and these losses translate into significant and growing harm across our communities.

Our joint symposium Tackling Gambling Harm in Australia, co-hosted with the Public Health Association of Australia, was held on Monday 1 May in Adelaide. It was a pre-preventive health conference event and provided an excellent opportunity to partner with the health sector to bring together more than 100 people to hear from Australia’s leading experts in gambling harm. The symposium provided a focus on finding solutions to address the harm that can and does arise from gambling. The need for gambling harm to be a recognised public health issue underpinned by a national strategy and real investment in prevention, treatment, support and research was a key outcome.

Important and overdue reform including a ban on gambling advertising was given high priority by participants at the symposium. Its high on the Alliance’s list of priorities too. A huge thank you to those who are making a regular donation of $10 a month to support our End Gambling Ads Campaign! As the Alliance does not receive state or federal government funding, this support is invaluable in enabling us to do our policy and advocacy work.