Independent Member for Curtin Kate Chaney MP has called the Government’s proposed gambling reforms an all-too-predictable disappointment and a missed opportunity following the release of exposure draft legislation on Friday.
“It’s a welcome development to have gambling reforms finally on the table, but all the evidence shows that partial bans, like the Government’s proposal, do not work,” Ms Chaney said.
“The exposure draft claims to address recommendation 26 of the Murphy Report, but it creates a complicated, piecemeal framework full of loopholes that will be confusing to navigate and difficult to police.
“A total ban on gambling advertising has the support of more than three quarters of the Australian public, would be simple to implement, and would cost the taxpayer less than what is on the table. But the Government has instead created a regulatory Frankenstein.”
Ms Chaney was a member of the committee that produced the landmark You win some, you lose more Report chaired by late Labor MP Peta Murphy which made 31 recommendations on gambling reform.
“On my count, the exposure draft only fully addresses one of the recommendations in the Murphy Report – recommendation 7, on illegal platforms – a focus the gambling companies want, to distract from their own predatory behaviours,” Ms Chaney said.
“Aside from the lack of an ad ban, there’s no mention of a national regulator, nor restrictions on inducements, all of which must be addressed if we are to address the social, emotional, health and financial harms of gambling.
“I’d be very surprised if the Labor backbenchers who have been pushing for action alongside me on this are satisfied with this pathetic proposal. These reforms are not what the Murphy Report recommended.”
The Government has spruiked that the proposed changes strike the right balance for gambling reform.
“The Government should be acting in the public interest, not balancing it against the interests of the gambling lobby. The Prime Minister must stand up to vested interests and his powerful industry mates,” Ms Chaney said.
“In Sean Micallef’s ABC documentary on Australia’s gambling culture, Responsible Wagering Australia’s CEO Kai Cantwell said the gambling lobby would support the restriction of TV gambling ads to three per hour. That was recorded in October 2025. And seven months later, that’s exactly what this legislation provides, presented as a ‘compromise’. The Government hasn’t struck a balance, it found the path of least resistance.
“If these reforms pass as currently drafted, the gambling companies will be ecstatic – they are likely to keep showing their ads to a huge majority of Australians; it will be business as usual.
“There's still time for improvement. The Government has listened to the gambling companies. Now it must listen to the community to improve this legislation, so it can actually do what it is meant to do.”
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