One of Australia’s leading gambling reformists has claimed the politicians have “blown a golden opportunity” after new advertising rules were approved Down Under.
The chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello, slammed the Labor government and Opposition parties for their planned reforms which, he claimed, will still leave consumers “exposed to harrowing gambling harm”.
Gambling reforms passed earlier this week some three years after the Murphy report called for a blanket ban on gambling ads in Australia.
Instead of an outright ban, the Albanese government opted to limit TV ads to three-per-hour between 5am and 8.30pm, while sports sponsors will be phased out and a new opt-out option for online advertising will be implemented.
Costello remarked: “The reforms […] are cosmetic over substance and reflect the major party’s intent to prioritise power, money and vested interests over the welfare of Australians who lose more to gambling than any other country on the planet on a per capita basis.”
Outgoing Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Martin Thomas added that the lobby group “are not giving up” in its aims to reduce gambling marketing in the country.
He said: “We had a golden opportunity for real reform. Our political leaders have failed to take it.
“The Alliance for Gambling Reform will keep fighting for stronger laws, an end to the saturation of gambling advertising and genuine protections for Australian families.”
Thomas is to be replaced as Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO by Sunita Bose, the former head of global policy at Change.org.
Bose, a former media and comms officer at UNICEF Australia and Oxfam Australia, most recently served as managing director at DIGI – a tech trade group in Australia.
Responsible Wagering Australia, the trade body representing operators in the market, said the reforms would push consumers to black market operators.
CEO Kai Cantwell said: “These measures will significantly curtail our ability to advertise a legal product safely to adults.
“If you push people away from the licensed, regulated market – by banning or limiting the promotions that let local operators compete, or by making Australian odds less competitive with new taxes and levies – you don’t stop them punting.
“You push them offshore, into products with no consumer protections, no support, no BetStop and no contribution to Australian sport and racing. In fact, these sites actively undermine sports integrity and consumer protections.”
BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, counts 41,290 active exclusions as of 31 July.
The platform launched three years ago, with 38% of registrants self-excluding for life.
The onshore online Australian market was worth A$6.9bn (£3.6bn) in GGR in 2025, as per data from EGR‘s data partner H2 Gambling Capital.
H2 Gambling Capital also places Sportsbet, Flutter’s Australian bookmaker, as the market leader Down Under.
Speaking to ABC, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he thought his government had “got the balance right” on ad reforms.
He said: “We have worked constructively with the entire sector. I’ve sat down with the people who are part of the anti-gambling industry, sat down with sporting organisations.
“I haven’t sat down with the betting industry. But I’ve sat down with others, including, of course, the free-to-air networks who have arrangements in place. And I think we’ve got the balance right of providing serious protections. This is serious reform.”
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Alliance for Gambling Reform pledges to continue to lobby and push for further changes, while trade body Responsible Wagering Australia claims new rules will help black market thrive
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