Our other recommendations to reduce gambling exposure and introduce mandatory pre-commitment should significantly reduce gambling harm, and, consequently, demand for help services. But if the review finds that more funding for services and/or research is needed, governments could make up the gap by increasing gambling taxes and closing tax loopholes. Most prominently, the federal government has taken more than 14 months to respond to the Murphy Inquiry into online gambling, which handed down 31 recommendations in 2023 with multi-partisan backing. A core recommendation of the inquiry was a full ban on gambling advertising.

The main reason Australia’s regulations are so weak is the influence of the gambling industry. Past reform efforts have been killed by highly organised, well-funded industry campaigns. In other countries, high-impact, high-loss ‘Australian-style’ machines are typically confined to casinos.11 But in Australia, they are pockmarked across our suburbs and towns, increasing the risk of harm. Our average annual losses per adult ($1,635) far exceed the average in similar countries such as the US ($809) and New Zealand ($584) (Figure 1.1).

Interactive gambling services such as online casinos, online slot machines and online wagering services that accept ‘in-play’ betting on sports events are prohibited by the Australian Government. ACMA is the government body responsible for the regulation of online industries in Australia. 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.

In parallel, the federal government should investigate the feasibility of a universal pre-commitment system with maximum loss limits. Use BetStop—the National Self-Exclusion RegisterTM to block yourself from all phone and online gambling providers. Australian Consumer Law applies to products and services consumers buy from all businesses in Australia, including gambling businesses. The total turnover of the territory’s bookmakers was $42.4 billion with a “tax revenue” of $18.8 million and the annual report attributed 749 “territory jobs” to the industry.

Advice for online gambling consumers

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). Providers should also give warning messages to customers as their limit approaches, so it doesn’t come as a shock. The proliferation of pokies is a problem that state governments should chip away at over time, at the very least to avoid making things worse. This recent history makes Tasmania’s current pokies reforms all the more remarkable (see Box 6 in Chapter 3). Gambling is one of Australia’s most politically powerful industries, which makes gambling reform high risk politically. spin samurai casino 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.

Regulators should be wary that setting limits on how much people can lose while gambling creates an incentive for the industry to more aggressively try to increase its customer base. This makes the ban on all gambling advertising and inducements (Section 3.1.1) all the more important. If Australian governments are serious about preventing gambling harm, they will need to bolster their efforts and take action to both reduce the pervasiveness of gambling in Australia and make gambling safer. Mandatory pre-commitment with upper limits on losses could provide that safety net (see Chapter 3).

Our proposed reforms do not curtail the availability of legal gambling websites. Setting a pre-commitment limit will add only a small friction to the sign-up process, and most people’s spending already falls under our proposed maximum limits. It is unlikely that there would be a major exodus to offshore providers to avoid these minor inconveniences. And disquiet about the proliferation of online gambling harm triggered the 2023 Murphy Inquiry, which made 31 recommendations supported by multi-partisan consensus – a rare feat. The federal government has taken more than 14 months to respond to the inquiry, but leaks last month on the potential response231 sparked protracted debate in the media, parliament, and Labor’s own caucus – showing how widespread the public support for reform is.

The delayed response has left big gaps in consumer protection, and demonstrates once again how politically challenging it is to achieve good policy in this space. There is a risk that some people in the grip of gambling addiction seek out unlicensed websites in a deliberate attempt to circumvent loss limits. But, under current regulations, legal websites are not much safer than illegal ones for heavy gamblers.

2.2 Clubs can still serve their communities with less pokies revenue

Gambling companies and peak bodies apply pressure to our politicians through every avenue to protect their profits. UBET QLD Limited is currently the exclusive licence holder for race and sports wagering in Queensland.

Consumer advice, rights and responsibilities

• 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.
• And gambling donations show a pattern of spiking when the ‘political heat’ rises, on pokies reform in particular (Figure 2.3 and Box 2).
• While many of the implementation challenges are greater for NSW, so are the benefits.
• While a destination model such as Western Australia’s is a long way off for the rest of the country,193 state governments should actively reduce the number of machines and venues.

In many communities in NSW, particularly poorer communities, it’s difficult to find a venue that doesn’t have pokies (Figure 1.4). People who gamble, their families, and the broader community pay the price. Gambling can lead to financial and mental distress, relationship breakdown, family violence, and suicide. Pokies are more common in our suburbs than post boxes, ATMs, or public toilets. And they are particularly prevalent in NSW, which has almost as many pokies as the rest of Australia combined.