Labor’s proposed gambling advertising reforms have renewed pressure on the federal government to adopt the full ban recommended by the 2023 parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, with independent MP Kate Chaney among those calling for stronger action.
Under the government’s proposed legislation, gambling advertisements on television would be restricted to no more than three per hour between 6am and 8.30pm and prohibited during live sports broadcasts. The measures would also apply to stadium advertising and player jerseys. However, critics argue the proposal falls well short of the Murphy inquiry’s recommendations, which called for a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising and warned that partial restrictions would allow gambling companies to exploit loopholes.
Chaney, one of only two non-Labor members of the Murphy inquiry who remain in politics, is using renewed negotiations over the legislation to push for the inquiry’s recommendations to be implemented. When parliament returns, she intends to advocate for both a full ban on gambling advertising and inducements and the establishment of a national gambling regulator.
Her intervention comes as Labor signals it is prepared to negotiate changes to its legislation after encountering opposition from both the Greens and the Coalition. Communications Minister Anika Wells defended the government’s approach and rejected suggestions the reforms could be abandoned, saying the legislative process was proceeding normally despite political resistance.
Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said Labor’s plan would create the same loopholes identified in the Murphy report, which concluded that “partial bans on gambling advertising do not work”. Pocock argued the reforms failed to address the inquiry’s central recommendations and accused the government of protecting the interests of betting companies and broadcasters that rely on gambling advertising revenue.
With the Coalition also condemning the proposed laws, Labor is unlikely to secure Senate support without significant amendments. This has given Chaney and other independents an opportunity to press the government to return to the stronger, bipartisan recommendations developed by the Murphy inquiry.
The debate has also been complicated by evidence presented to a Senate inquiry into the reforms. Former NRL player Luke Bateman told the inquiry that betting companies offered him illicit drugs, alcohol and interstate trips when he was 23 in an effort to encourage continued gambling. Reports later emerged that Bateman had worked for a New South Wales bookmaker offering inducements two years afterwards. Responsible Wagering Australia chief executive Kai Cantwell described this as a “clear conflict” that should have been disclosed before Bateman gave evidence.
The renewed political contest leaves the future shape of Labor’s reforms uncertain, but Chaney is positioning the Murphy inquiry’s original recommendations — including a nationwide advertising ban and national regulator — as the benchmark for any negotiated compromise.