Australia introduces gambling ad restrictions without establishing new regulator in Murphy Report response

(AsiaGameHub) –   The Australian federal government has endorsed the principal conclusions of a parliamentary probe into online gambling and revealed a wide-ranging set of national reform measures. Its complete reaction to the Murphy’s Law inquiry, initiated in 2023, was released on Wednesday.

These actions are a direct answer to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ report, ‘You win some, you lose more’, which was shaped by 161 submissions, 26 exhibits, and 13 public hearings.

After the report was published, a multi-year inquiry began to identify the optimal approach for addressing gambling-related harm nationwide.

To underscore the pressing need for regulatory action, the government pointed to recent data illustrating the massive scope of the problem.

Statistics from the Queensland Treasury showed Australians lost over AU$32 billion (US$21 million) on legal gambling in the 2023-24 financial year. This amounts to roughly AU$1,521 per adult, which officials state is the highest per-person loss in the world.

Furthermore, the Australian Institute of Family Studies calculated in 2024 that about 15% of adults were either experiencing or at risk of harm from gambling.

Academic studies cited in the government’s response noted that a single problem gambler can adversely affect as many as six other individuals.

The upcoming package contains 31 recommendations centered on advertising curbs, which were made public in April. The reforms are scheduled to start on 1 January 2027, pending the approval of necessary laws.

Advertisements: To ban or not to ban

In 2023, the late MP Peta Murphy proposed an amendment to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 that called for a total prohibition on gambling ads. The new reforms stop short of a full advertising ban but incorporate several stringent harm-minimisation steps.

These steps are:

• A nationwide prohibition on betting ads during live sports broadcasts on free-to-air television from 6am to 8.30pm.
• A limit of three betting advertisements per hour per channel during the restricted period.
• A ban on betting advertisements in sports stadiums and on the uniforms of players or officials.
• A prohibition on using celebrities and displaying betting odds in ads.
• Restrictions on radio advertising during school drop-off and pick-up times (8-9am and 3-4pm).
• An extension of advertising bans to social media platforms, requiring hosts and providers to take down illegal material.
• The establishment of a “triple lock” standard for online ads, guaranteeing they are only displayed to logged-in adults who have not chosen to opt out.

Specialist racing channels and TAB outlets will be excluded from these advertising limits.

ACMA remains the primary federal enforcement body

Alongside the advertising rules, the reform package addresses the rise of illicit operators.

Banks will be given the power to stop payments to illegal online gambling businesses, and the website-blocking system run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be broadened.

Although the inquiry proposed a national gambling regulator, this will not proceed. The ACMA will continue to serve as the main federal enforcement agency.

BetStop, Australia’s national self-exclusion register, will be promoted more extensively as the initial report advised. After a statutory review, the government pledged to enhance the system’s user-friendliness, increase promotion, fund ACMA marketing for BetStop, and recoup running costs from industry members.

In its most recent budget, the Australian government on Tuesday announced a major funding commitment of AU$112.7 million over five years from 2025-26 to lessen gambling harm. Part of this funding will be sourced from a raised levy on licensed operators that offer access to BetStop.

Reviews, commissions and credit cards

A current ban—effective from June 2024—on using credit cards, credit-like products, and digital currencies for online betting will face a compulsory review beginning in June 2026. Ministers will also keep the power to expand prohibitions to new credit products through legislative tools.

Funding for the Commonwealth Financial Counselling for Gambling programme will be doubled, and its services will reach more areas. The government will also launch a national digital public awareness initiative aimed at high-risk demographics, including young men aged 18-34, First Nations peoples, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Commonwealth legislation will also be introduced to make match-fixing a crime under the Criminal Code, aligning with international benchmarks from the Macolin Convention.

The government intends to finalise specifics during the law-drafting phase and will consult with state and territory governments and industry players, especially on issues under regional jurisdiction like lottery and racing wagering controls.