Anti-gambling advocates have welcomed the delay in Labor’s proposed gambling advertising reforms, which will be examined by a Senate inquiry after attracting criticism for falling short of the recommendations of the landmark Murphy Report. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The legislation would cap gambling advertisements at three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, ban celebrities from appearing in gambling and odds-style advertising, and prohibit gambling advertising at sporting venues and on the uniforms of athletes and umpires.
The reforms, introduced by Communications Minister Anika Wells, omit several key recommendations made by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy in her landmark 2023 report, including a phased three-year ban on all gambling advertising, a ban on gambling inducements, a national public education campaign and a national gambling regulator.
On July 1, Coalition, Greens and independent senators voted to refer the legislation to a Senate inquiry, delaying debate in the House of Representatives until August 17.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Rev Tim Costello said the delay was “a great relief”.
He agreed with comments by independent senator David Pocock and independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who argued the government had reduced the scope of the Murphy reforms because of competing interests.
“There has been a profound and insidious cultural shift where our kids can’t think of our athletes as nothing more than means to winning a multi,” Rev Costello said.
“There are three vested interests at play, and the biggest one is free-to-air TV, where the television companies pay for the broadcast rights to sporting events with sports betting in the deal.
“There’s also the sports betting companies, who have made donations to parties on both sides of politics, and the AFL and NRL themselves, who have literally allowed the sports we love to become the Trojan horse which introduces gambling ads to our kids.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the reforms on July 3, telling the ABC he believed the proposed legislation was “a comprehensive approach” to reducing gambling advertising while arguing greater attention should also be paid to poker machine losses.
Australian Catholic University senior lecturer in marketing Alexander Campbell said advertising reform should be understood as one part of a broader effort to reduce gambling harm.
“We can take steps to remove advertising, but if we’re not addressing other behavioural factors which can cause people to gamble or experience gambling harm, you’re actually limiting the conversation people can have around that behaviour,” Dr Campbell said.
FULL STORY
Gambling reform heads to Senate inquiry (By Alex Woolnough, The Catholic Weekly)
