Labor’s gambling ‘AdStop’ regime fails to quell fresh anger of critics

Labor will introduce a new “AdStop” regime where Australians can choose not to receive gambling advertising online, but advocates are arguing that its promised crackdown on betting promotions used to woo gamblers will do little to change the damaging practice.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese struck a deal on gambling reform on Tuesday, which also guarantees the Coalition’s support for Labor’s NDIS overhaul in exchange for the government expediting moves to rid a “widow’s tax” from the tax changes announced in the May budget.

Labor’s caucus signed off on changes that would create the opt-out register for gambling advertising, and betting companies will pay for its implementation with a levy. The laws will be reviewed after three years.

But gambling reform advocates and crossbenchers were dismayed by the amendments on the use of betting inducements, such as bonus bets and VIP agents, which encourage people to gamble more, after Albanese last week promised to wind them back.

Gambling companies will have a 14-day wait time between someone opening an account and being able to offer them inducements, while there will be a 90-day wait time for people attempting to move off the self-exclusion platform BetStop. Wagering companies will also have to look for risk indicators in customers, and will not be able to offer inducements to risky gamblers.

However, reform advocates argue the industry cannot be trusted to make that determination, given evidence to a Senate inquiry about gamblers being lured with thousands of dollars of free bets despite showing signs of problem behaviour.

Liberal MP Andrew Wallace said he would cross the floor for the first time in his 10-year parliamentary history to vote against the Coalition position of supporting the package, saying the amendments “don’t go anywhere near” fixing problem gambling.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the revised package was “the most significant gambling advertising reform by any Australian government ever”.

In addition to Tuesday’s amendments, viewers would still see up to three gambling ads per hour on television. The reforms include a phased-in ad ban for stadiums and jerseys, ban sports stars from promoting wagering, and tighter limits on radio ads in school pick-up hours, as well as an opt-in model for online ads.

“I want to thank the parliament for coming together to deal with this issue and get a result that will work,” he told the chamber.

Independent MP Zali Steggall took issue with the way the amendments were introduced to the House on Tuesday afternoon and sent immediately to a vote.

“This is procedurally incredibly unfair,” Steggall said. “We have no visibility on what the effect of these amendments are, and after five minutes of speech, we are being asked to vote on them.”

Independent MP Monique Ryan then accused the government of pushing through “half-hearted, friendless” reforms.

“Today’s collusion between Labor and the Liberals shows yet again that the major political parties in this country care more about the media interests, sporting codes, and gambling companies than they do about their constituents,” she told the House.