Gambling lobby’s sponsorship of Australian parliament’s sports club condemned by crossbench MPs (17 Sep 2025)
Article summary: Independent MP Kate Chaney has strongly criticised the sponsorship of the Australian Parliament Sports Club by Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA). She argues that RWA’s corporate membership of the club is a way for gambling lobbyists to normalise their presence and influence among politicians.
The Parliament Sports Club, chaired by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, allows corporate members access to “over 200 parliamentary members” and “key opinion leaders” via social games and functions. Corporate membership reportedly starts at AU$2,500.
RWA’s membership is not listed on the club’s public website, but is included in internal emails.
Chaney says that through RWA’s involvement:
There is “another subtle way lobbyists are making politicians believe gambling is indispensable to sport.”
The industry’s influence has been “normalised, with no one batting an eyelid at lobbyists turning up at friendly parliamentary sports events.”
She is calling on the Prime Minister to remove RWA’s corporate membership of the club.
Other crossbench MPs and transparency advocates agree. Senator David Pocock condemned RWA’s attempt to link itself with a suicide‑prevention running event hosted by the club, calling this “pretty shameless” especially given the gambling industry’s known connections to harm and suicide.
The Centre for Public Integrity also warned that such memberships provide wealthy interests with opportunities to build relationships with politicians.
RWA responded by saying it does not use the club membership to lobby and that its participation is more about socialising and exercise than influence. The club’s chief executive said there is an unwritten rule that “no one talks business on the sports pitches” and stressed that the club is meant to give MPs a chance to relax beyond work.
