Australian non-profit gambling harm prevention campaign, Alliance for Gambling Reform, has maintained its demands for a total gambling ad ban amid an increase in player losses.
The call to Australian policy makers comes in light of a report by the Queensland Government, in which it highlighted that national gambling losses for 2022/23 totalled $32bn – with the only available previous loss figures amounting to $25bn in 2018/19.
Martin Thomas, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, commented: “Australians lose more to gambling than any other nation in the world because we have a grossly inadequate regulatory regime in which the gambling industry has been allowed to operate virtually unchecked causing devastation to individuals, families and communities.
“These latest horrifying loss figures underscore the importance of the Federal Government adopting all 31 recommendations of the Murphy Report including a full ban on gambling advertising on broadcast media and online. It also proves the need for a national strategy on gambling and the formation of a national regulator.”
During her time chairing the parliamentary inquiry into the potential ban of gambling advertisements, the late Labor MP Peta Murphy requested that promotions should be taken down from all communication channels – TV, radio, newspapers and online platforms alike.
However, the current Labor cabinet under PM Anthony Albanese has been continuously criticised for diverting from the Murphy Report, and instead compromising in favour of the gambling sector.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform recently published an open letter addressing Albanese, with the 60 politically prominent signees demanding for the government to stay on track with the planned phase out of gambling advertisements – part of Murphy’s 31 proposed reforms.
“The Albanese Government has been sitting on the recommendations of the Murphy Report for more than 14 months now, it is time for action, it is time for political leadership to protect Australians and especially to protect our children who are being groomed to gamble by a ruthless, profit-hungry industry,” added Thomas.
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