In the meantime, governments should improve support services to help those suffering harm now. Gambling normalisation starts young, and sports betting advertising is a major culprit. The federal government should ban all gambling advertising, sponsorships, and inducements.
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NSW stands out in having banned political donations from gambling businesses because of the potential for influence and perception of influence.167 But gambling interests in NSW still can and do donate at the federal level. Gambling is one of Australia’s most politically powerful industries, which makes gambling reform high risk politically. Australian governments have historically legalised and promoted a wide range of gambling options.118 Today, governments oversee a tangled web of rules and codes for Australian gambling providers119 that leaves big holes in consumer protection. Chapter 4 explores how governments can ensure reforms stick, by standing up to the vested interests, rebutting their self-interested claims, and coordinating reform efforts across jurisdictions.
Compliance with the mandatory scheme should be a condition of holding a licence. The second is that gambling is such a politically powerful industry, with many powerful allies, governments are scared to take them on. This report mainly focuses on reducing the harm caused by pokies and betting. Other forms of gambling can undoubtedly be harmful, but are either lower risk113 or less common,114 so receive less attention in this report.
- This report mainly focuses on reducing the harm caused by pokies and betting.
- People who gamble, their families, and the broader community pay the price in their finances, health, and wellbeing.
- The results show that Australians agree that junk food, gambling, alcohol and tobacco advertising on TV should be banned, and more agree than disagree that ads promoting fossil fuels should be banned.
- The second is that gambling is such a politically powerful industry, with many powerful allies, governments are scared to take them on.
- The industry contends that stronger regulation would push gamblers towards illegal gambling websites,259 which lack consumer protection measures.260 But the risk of illegal gambling is small compared with the known harm of the current environment.
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This table provides a time series of total gambling turnover by state and territory. This table provides a time series of total gambling expenditure by state and territory. Only an eligible association can conduct charitable and non-profit games online, for profit. One of the primary objectives of the CNPG Act is to prevent individuals from obtaining a personal gain from the conduct of games such as raffles.
Polling – Advertising on TV
Over the past year, our Voices have campaigned for gambling reform by sharing their stories in the media, speaking to federal and state politicians, as well as providing evidence at government inquiries and hearings. A key part of the Alliance’s work is how we work with people who have experienced gambling harm, known as the Voices for Gambling Reform. Coordinating reform across jurisdictions will make the changes simpler for people to navigate and strengthen governments to withstand vested interest pushback. This will be especially important given the roadmap will take several years to fully implement. Taking action across all jurisdictions is likely to be the most effective way to stand up to the vested interests. It makes it harder for the industry to go after individual politicians, parties, or governments, as it has done in the past (see Chapter 2).
In parallel, the federal government should investigate the feasibility of a universal system across all gambling environments. In parallel to the reforms above, the federal government should investigate the feasibility of a single system for mandatory pre-commitment across all gambling environments. Rather than setting separate limits for pokies, online betting, and other forms of gambling, the ideal would be a single limit across all forms of gambling. Offering a buyback option should reduce pokies numbers while giving the industry some choice in how they manage the impact of the mandatory scheme on their business. Buyback costs could be substantial if lots of machines are non-compliant and venues opt to surrender their licences.
Australia should introduce a gambling warning label,201 so that people know when a game contains gambling-like features. This would help gamers of all ages avoid exposure to gambling if they wish, and it may be particularly helpful for parents to reduce their children’s incidental exposure to gambling. Many video games include gambling-like features that familiarise children with gambling and can be a gateway to other gambling. Loot boxes, in particular, are a common gambling-like feature in electronic games and have been linked to gambling problems (see Box 4). The proliferation of pokies is a problem that state governments should chip away at over time, at the very least to uptown pokies $50 no deposit bonus avoid making things worse.
Interactive gambling (including internet-based gambling) is regulated under both Australian and Queensland law. Interactive gambling licensing is regulated in Queensland by the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR). If you work in the gaming industry in Victoria, you may need a Gaming Industry Employee (GIE) licence. No longer listed on the ASX, its financial performance is difficult to gauge but if it had hopes of a quick turnaround and easy profit, they may have been dashed. It since has been selling neighbouring properties in Southbank, bought by Crown when James Packer was still running the outfit.