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Welcome to our
OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Check out all our latest updates

10/2022

CarolBennett

Carol Bennett

Chief Executive Officer

Message from the CEO

The last couple of months have seen a significant shift in community
awareness and concern about gambling related harm across Australia. 


This has followed the Royal Commission into Crown Victoria and WA
casinos and various inquiries into casinos around the country including Star
Sydney and Queensland and South Australia. The Alliance, in addition to
our ongoing media and public advocacy, has made numerous submissions
and provided witnesses to these enquiries across a number of states and
importantly, ensured that the voices of those with lived experience are
heard and heeded.


A few notable achievements in reducing gambling harm occurred. Most
significantly, the Tasmanian government has decided (and achieved
bipartisan support) to introduce mandatory pre-commitment and cashless
gambling cards. Following on from Victor Dominello’s digital wallet trial in
NSW which saw him be moved on from his responsibility in this area, it is
wonderful to see Tasmania show the leadership to introduce possibly the
most substantial harm reduction measure. We are hopeful other states will
follow suit….


The Alliance joined with local community advocates in Alice Springs to
advocate for new poker machine licenses to be rejected. The Northern
Territory government decided on a 9 month moratorium on new poker
machine licences in central Australia which is a step forward in reducing
harm in that community.


And a very welcome national parliamentary inquiry into online gambling has
been launched. With the growing impact of online gambling in our
communities, this inquiry will enable much needed exploration of the
current trends, research, lived experience of harm and possible solutions.
The Alliance will provide a submission informed by our Voices lived
experience group.


Finally, a significant report on gambling losses in 5 states arrived at a
conservative figure $11.74b which is a staggering and world leading result.
Read more about this research and the various activities on the Alliance’s
radar in this edition.


Thanks for your continuing support

Carol Bennett

Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO

Record-breaking $11B Losses

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New research leads to calls to establish a national gambling regulator.

Australians lost more than $11.4 billion to poker machines in pubs and clubs across five states last year according to the first comprehensive, national analysis of available loss figures which cements Australia as the world’s biggest losers to poker machines per person.  

 

And the researchers warn that without the pandemic restrictions, hotel and club gambling machine losses are likely to exceed $13 billion next year.

 

The new figures, compiled by Dr Charles Livingstone of the Gambling and Social Determinants Unit at Monash University also show that in the 30 years to 2019 (the latest available figures) poker machine losses in hotels and clubs in Australia amounted to $308.4 billion. Note that poker machines are not permitted in clubs and hotels in WA. Relevant data was also not readily available for ACT or the NT.

 

The chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello, said the losses reveal the extent of the gambling crisis that is devastating families and communities across the country, a ‘hidden epidemic’ that demands a nationally coordinated and urgent government response.

 

“The federal government must establish a national gambling harm regulator that can coordinate efforts to reduce the terrible toll gambling is wreaking on Australian society,” Rev Costello said.

 

“A regulator can bring the states together, it can progressively reduce the number of poker machines, it can fast-track harm minimisation measures such as digital wallets. At the moment there is no coordination and no will to act.”

 

Monash University Associate Professor Charles Livingstone, said pandemic restrictions had reduced losses in NSW and Victoria by 17% or 1.6 billion.

 

“Previous trends are likely to resume after the easing of pandemic restrictions with hotel and club gambling machines total expenditure for 2022-23 likely to exceed $13 billion across Australia,” Professor Livingstone said.

 

The annual loss of $11.4 billion in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania is the equivalent to a loss of $658 for every adult resident of those States.

 

Amongst people who use poker machines, average losses were $3,429 p.a. across the five states.

 

Our media release and key data are available here.

Federal inquiry into online gambling

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The Australian House of Representatives have announced a federal inquiry into online gambling. 


This is a welcome step in the right direction towards meaningful reforms that can protect our communities from the growing and harmful impacts of the complex online gambling environment.
 

The Terms of Reference allow the inquiry to look at online gambling holistically, from treatment, to impact on children and appropriateness of current regulations.  It will even explore the impact of Facial Recognition Technology.
 

The Alliance will be proactively engaging in this inquiry and invites your thoughts on the issues.   Please send to Tara at info@agr.org.au 
 

Read more about the inquiry here.

Tasmania’s mandatory pre-commitment policy

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The Tasmanian Government has committed to implementing a mandatory pre-commitment, cashless card scheme on all poker machines in pubs, clubs and the casinos. The Alliance has long advocated for mandatory pre-commitment on all poker machines as an evidence-based effective tool to prevent gambling harm so we applaud the Tasmanian government for taking this initiative and hope it will extend to other jurisdictions. Read our media release here 

Star Casino Inquiry Outcomes

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Qld and South Australia Inquiry Submissions

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After months of work highlighting lived experience of gambling harm at the Star Casino, the Bell inquiry report was published. The Alliance worked closely with people harmed at Star to ensure they could tell their story of harm and have an impact on the outcomes and recommendations of Bell’s final report. 

 

The Star Sydney were found unfit to hold their licence and the NSW Premier himself called them ‘absolutely horrendous.’ To read the report in full click here

 

AGR CEO Carol Bennett provided comment on the lack of accountability for casino board members and specifically in relation to Star’s plan to continue to operate despite the inquiry findings

The Alliance for Gambling Reform has welcomed the recommendations from the Gotterson review that uncovered appalling failures at Star Casinos in Queensland. Read our media release here.

The South Australian SkyCity inquiry is still underway

The Alliance has worked with people with lived experience of gambling harm to ensure their voices continue to be heard in these inquiries and that those investigating casinos have the most up to date and robust evidence and research backing recommendations made around preventing and reducing gambling harm. 

we keenly await the findings and actions taken from these inquiries.

 The final Gotterson report can be found here.

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Victoria

The Alliance made a submission to the Victorian Suicide Prevention and Reponse strategy last month highlighting the importance of the strategy having a dedicated focus on gambling related suicides. 


You can read our submission here.

Opinion Pieces

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My gambling addiction almost killed me. This government is trying to kill my hope, too.

Mark Kempster, Alliance for Gambling Reform

Perceived Pressure

7/4/26

The Albanese Government has ignored the Murphy report's key recommendations - and it'll cost lives.

“Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

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Why the pokies keep beating Australians

Tim Costello, Chief Advocate, Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Saturday Paper

13/9/25

Australia suffers the greatest losses and harm from gambling per adult in the world. Most Australians want reform, regular surveys show. So why is it so impossible?

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Does Australia still lack the political courage to end gambling ads?

Tim Costello, Chief Advocate, Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Canberra Times

23/4/25

Despite being past the halfway mark of the election campaign - neither the PM or the Opposition leader has shown any appetite for banning gambling ads and reducing gambling harm.

This is despite the fact that polls now show that 76 per cent of Australians want a gambling ad ban. This is a stunning result, so the campaigning silence on this by the major parties is equally stunning.

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Why gambling is now devastating more families at greater levels

Martin Thomas, CEO for the Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Canberra Times

10/3/25

In the last decade, the nature of gambling in Australia has changed profoundly and its impact on family household budgets is now greater than at any other time.

New technology, a slew of rapacious, foreign-owned gambling companies and a near catastrophic failure of regulation has allowed gambling to pervade our lives like never before and its impact is being felt deeply at the household budget level.

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A thousand days of inaction on gambling reform

Tim Costello, Chief Advocate, Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Saturday Paper

28/3/26

This coming Tuesday, March 24, it will be a thousand days since the Murphy report into online gambling was delivered to government. The report contained 31 recommendations, including a ban on gambling ads and inducements and the creation of a national gambling regulator.

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A predatory industry is targeting our kids and the government is staying silent

Tim Costello, Chief Advocate, Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Canberra Times

14/8/25

The Victorian Coroner's hearing into the tragic suicide of 22-year-old Kyle Hudson is set to shine a spotlight on the activities of bookmaker Sportsbet.

Kyle took his life shortly after losing two bets worth more than $6000.

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Time to tell our leaders we want gambling reform

Tim Costello, Chief Advocate, Alliance for Gambling Reform

1/4/25

I have campaigned over decades for gambling reform.

It started way, way back when I was in law and I met a lovely, elderly woman who shockingly was facing jail for stealing to feed her gambling habit.

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The NRL going to Las Vegas is proof gambling steers our sports

Rev Tim Costello, Chief Advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Canberra Times

24/2/25

The NRL will next month be again hosting its opening round in Las Vagas.

And if ARL Commission Chair Peter V'landys's grand plan comes to fruition, President Trump may also be there to make rugby league great again.

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Tassie faces a losing bet as gambling lobby wields its power

Mark Kempster, Alliance for Gambling Reform

Hobart Mercury

29/1/26

The only way that things will change in Tasmania and across Australia is if voters speak out and tell their MPs that they are sick of the losses and social harm gambling is doing in their communities.

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Our gambling problem is infuriating and depressing. Here's how we can change the game

Tim Costello

The Canberra Times

22/7/25

Federal Parliament sits for the first time this week after Labor's stunning electoral success, and with it comes a mandate for brave policy action.

The first sitting closely follows the second anniversary of the release of the landmark Murphy Report into online gambling, a blueprint to take Australia from the world's biggest gambling losers to dramatically reduce gambling harm across our community.

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The easy, popular measure that could cut households costs missing from the budget

Martin Thomas, CEO for the Alliance for Gambling Reform

The Canberra Times

27/3/25

Yet there is a major cost-of-living initiative that is low cost, non-inflationary and would tackle an issue that is a bigger drain on the household budget than power bills.

But it is not in the budget and most likely it won't be in the opposition's budget reply speech either.

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Lessons from NSW's transport gambling ad ban

Martin Thomas, CEO for the Alliance for Gambling Reform

Linkedin

6/2/25

As Parliament returns to Canberra this week, NSW's recent decision to remove gambling advertisements from public transport offers an important lesson in what meaningful reform looks like. It's a reminder that change happens not through rhetoric alone but through decisive action backed by a clear purpose.

In The News

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Two Teachers Making a Difference on Gambling Harm

Gambling Education Australia

Haydn and Matthew are on the front line in schools, delivering powerful seminars to help young people understand and prevent gambling harm.

As Health Education teachers, they’re passionate about early intervention and equipping students with practical strategies - reflected in feedback showing 80% leave feeling better prepared to protect themselves.
“This is a powerful and much needed conversation. Education like this plays a vital role in helping young people be aware of the predatory nature of gambling. I’d also like to see meaningful reform in this area to reduce the burden placed on them.” said one supporter.

By also engaging parents and sharing their knowledge, their work is building a stronger, informed community ready to push back against harm.

Book a session or find out more.

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Partial reform, lasting harm

Perceived Pressure Substack

Australia’s new gambling reforms are a step forward—but they don’t go far enough to stop lives being ruined.

Mark Kempster, Alliance Voices Advocate, writes: “I was a nervous wreck the morning I gave my evidence… I was shaking the whole time I gave my evidence — recounting how many times gambling companies had targeted me with inducements and advertising, even as I was trying to self-exclude every month.”

Despite giving evidence and hoping for meaningful reform, these partial measures ignore the key recommendations of Peta Murphy’s inquiry. Gambling ads will still appear frequently, inducements remain unchecked, and there is no national regulator—leaving Australians exposed to harm and vulnerable to addiction.

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Gambling Industry Moves to Influence Gambling Reforms

Responsible Wagering Australia

The peak body for the gambling industry, Responsible Wagering Australia, is already moving to meet with Coalition and Crossbench politicians—no doubt to push to water down Labor’s proposed gambling reforms (as stated in their media release on 2 April 2026).

This is how it works. As soon as reform is on the table, the industry moves fast to protect its profits.

They represent some of the biggest betting companies in the country: bet365, Betfair, PointsBet, Sportsbet, Picklebet, CrownBet and Unibet—companies with deep pockets and a lot to lose.

And here’s the reality: the reforms already don’t go far enough to protect children and reduce gambling harm.

If the gambling industry succeeds in watering them down further, the harm will only continue.

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We cannot celebrate tinkering

The Guardian

In this Guardian opinion piece, David Pocock argues Labor’s gambling reform response “falls tragically short” — warning it won’t reverse the normalisation of gambling, particularly among young people.

With Australia facing the highest per capita gambling losses in the world, Pocock says partial restrictions ignore the evidence: without a full ban on advertising, harm will continue.

He urges the public to write to their local MPs and the Prime Minister — to demand stronger, evidence-based reform.

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1000 Days. 1,000 Reasons to Act

The Alliance

In 2023, the Australian government received a detailed plan to reduce gambling harm. 1,000 days later, not one recommendation has been acted on.

Australians are speaking up.

From protecting kids from gambling ads, to families impacted by gambling harm, to the simple belief that things should be better - the reasons for reform are everywhere.

Visit our website to read what some people are saying and to add your reason.

Join #1000days1000reasons.

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A new NT bill to reform Australia’s de facto online gambling regulator is facing strong criticism

ABC

Despite overseeing 52 online gambling companies, the regulator has no full-time staff and has faced allegations of conflicts of interest and delayed complaint handling.

The Alliance warns the reform falls short, stating: "the … bill reads not as a serious reform agenda, but as a damage-control exercise - introduced after national scrutiny exposed a regulator that is part-time, under-resourced and structurally unsuited to the role it performs."

Stronger, independent oversight is urgently needed to reduce gambling harm.

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Limited reform, lasting harm

BBC

Australia’s recently announced gambling ad reforms are a step forward - but they don’t go far enough to prevent gambling harm.

On BBC World News, The Alliance CEO Martin Thomas made the case clearly: "There shouldn't really be any advertised gambling advertising on television or online. The parliamentary inquiry which looked at this almost three years ago, suggested a full ad ban in the same way that cigarette advertising is banned. It's a legal product like gambling, but we should do everything we can to protect kids and to limit its marketing. And that's the case here. I mean, no one's suggesting in Australia that we should have three cigarette ads every hour, so we shouldn't have three gambling ads every hour."

Despite new limits, gambling ads will still appear frequently - continuing to expose children and normalise harm.

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Parents shouldn’t be forced to “opt out” of gambling ads to protect their kids.

The Alliance

The Alliance for Gambling Reform says the proposed system shifts responsibility onto families, instead of the gambling companies and platforms profiting from these ads.

As Tim Costello puts it: “Not a single parent would opt in to their kids seeing gambling ads.”

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1000 Days. Still No Action on Gambling Harm - Mark on Triple J

Tripple J Hack

Alliance Voices Advocate Mark Kempster has spoken out again, highlighting the catastrophic impact gambling advertising is having on young Australians and calling out the government’s failure to act.

It has now been 1,000 days since the Murphy Report outlined 31 recommendations to reduce gambling harm, yet no meaningful reform has been delivered.

Families and communities continue to pay the price. What's your reason? Share with us today.

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The Hidden Harms: Gambling and Family Violence Are Linked

GambleAware

New NSW research reveals a concerning link between gambling machines and family and domestic violence. As machine numbers increase, so do reported incidents - with evidence suggesting this relationship is causal.

Hotspots include parts of Sydney and northern NSW, while service providers warn support systems are not equipped to handle the overlap between gambling harm and violence.

Integrated services, better training, and stronger policy responses are urgently needed to protect families.

Events

ReThink Addiction Conference

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Carol Bennett (AGR CEO), Anna Bardsley (AGR Voices for Gambling Reform Coordinator), Kate Seselja and Paul Fung

The inaugural ReThink Addiction National Convention was held in Canberra from September 12-14.


It was an historic opportunity to come together to change the conversation around addiction, including the harm caused by gambling. With a fantastic line-up of speakers including AGR's Voices: Anna Bardsley, Kate Seselja and Gavin Fineff and a closing statement from CEO Carol Bennett.  It also featured a video from Three Sides of the Coin.

Read more about the conference here and here.

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Carol Bennett (AGR CEO), Gavin Fineff and Anna Bardsley (AGR Voices for Gambling Reform Coordinator)

Tim’s Mornington peninsula Event

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Ken (Voices for Gambling Reform, lived experience advocate), Joy (Uniting Church), Rose O’Leary (Reform and Advocacy, AGR), and Rev Tim Costello (Chief Advocate, AGR).

The Mornington Peninsula community has lost $45 million to poker machines in the past six months, eight per cent more than before the COVID pandemic. Chief Advocate Rev Tim Costello and Rose O’Leary, our advocacy and policy manager discussed these escalating losses and the high number of machines within the municipality at a free forum last month at St Marks Uniting Church, Barkly Street, Mornington. @MPnews 👉 https://www.mpnews.com.au/2022/08/15/gamblers-lose-big-post-covid/

Progress in Poker Machine Reform Seminar: Geelong

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Geelong has experienced record breaking losses of over $11.6M in July 2022; having lost over 2.3B in the 30 years since poker machines were introduced to Victoria.

Come along on Sunday 9 October to hear from our Chief Advocate, Rev Tim Costello discuss gambling harm, the latest poker machine reforms and what can be done to prevent and reduce further harm from gambling.

The event commences at 2pm at St Luke’s Uniting Church, Highton; with an afternoon tea provided.

Join our team

We’re hiring! Join our dynamic team as our new Supporters and Councils Coordinator!
Working to prevent and reduce gambling harm in Australia, you’ll be working with a range of organisations and local councils.


This full-time role provides the opportunity to lead and engage with key stakeholders and make a real difference in gambling reform.
 

We are inviting you to become an Alliance for Gambling Reform Supporter

Our kids are growing up in a world awash with gambling ads, major sports are controlled by pro-gambling interests, Australians dominate the global ladder of leading poker machine losses, and it seems you can only run a casino in Australia if you are unfit to hold a casino licence. 

 

But little by little, the Alliance for Gambling Reform is challenging the power of the gambling industry in Australia. 
 

We are inviting you to become a Gambling Reform Supporter and enable us 

to continue this critical work.

Join us and help change the way gambling is impacting our families and communities.
 

 The Alliance is an independent charity reliant on donations and supporters to continue the work we do. The need for our work has grown substantially over the last few years so we need your help to ensure we are able to grow with the critical need for change!

 

Financially we are a drop in the ocean compared to the gambling industry, yet this movement is picking up pace and thanks to you, change is happening.

All donations are tax-deductible.

Please note that we are legally obliged to record contact details such as your address and name. We also ask for your email and phone number so we can supply you with a receipt of your donation and to thank you for your support. We will never share your information with anyone outside the Alliance unless obligated to do so under the law.

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Our
Social Media

Here are some of our most popoular stories on social media.
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

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You can also see all the latest media featuring the Alliance for Gambling Reform via our website.

You can also view our latest Media Releases.

CONTACT

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Have questions about our work or want to make a general inquiry? Please fill out the form below. 👇

If you have lived experience of gambling harm or are an affected other, visit our Voices page.

Thanks for submitting!

Our Community House

552 Victoria St, Wurundjeri Country,
North Melbourne 3051, VIC

 

Email: info@agr.org.au

Phone: (03) 9999 7372

Media

For all media enquiries, please contact 

Phone: 07 2115 0820
Email: media@agr.org.au 

If you or someone you know is in need of support, please contact: Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 | Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 | Lifeline 131 114

PRIVACY POLICY

ALL CONTENT IS © ALLIANCE FOR GAMBLING REFORM UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. CREATED BY NNCREATIVE

The Alliance for Gambling Reform acknowledges we are living and working on Aboriginal land. We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land and pay respect to Aboriginal Elders past, present and emerging.

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