Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026

Ms JARRETT (Brisbane) (12:49): Having a punt is a normal part of a weekend for many, and for many gambling can be enjoyed responsibly. But gambling can become a highly destructive addiction without the right safeguards and support measures in place. That's why Labor is advancing one of the most important public health and consumer protection reforms of our time and one of the most significant undertaken by this government: gambling reform.

Many of my constituents in Brisbane have reached out to me advocating for strong action on gambling. I've met many families and individuals whose relationships, finances and futures have been ripped apart by gambling addiction. Gambling can affect self-esteem, relationships, physical and mental health, work performance and social life.

Gambling is everywhere you go. If you go to your local pub on a weekend, watch your kids play sport, watch your favourite sports or teams play on the TV, you see gambling. This legislation is not simply about gambling though; it's about protecting families, protecting children, protecting vulnerable Australians and ensuring that corporate profits don't come before the wellbeing of our communities.

As Australians, we really do love our sport. We love our AFL, our NRL, cricket, rugby, horse racing and countless local sporting clubs. But somewhere over the past couple of decades, something has changed.

Sports became saturated with gambling. Children can barely watch a football match without being exposed to betting odds before kick-off, gambling advertisements during the break and commentators discussing markets as though betting was simply another part of the game. Labor recognises that this normalisation has gone too far.

The Albanese government has responded with the strongest national gambling reforms Australia has ever seen, introducing the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, along with the National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026, to dramatically reduce the exposure of Australians, particularly children, to gambling advertising while strengthening protections for those experiencing gambling.

We need this balance. We need both sides. They acknowledge that gambling is a legal activity enjoyed responsibly by many adults while recognising that governments do have an obligation to minimise harm, in exactly the same way we regulate alcohol, tobacco and financial services.

One of the centrepieces of Labor's reforms is restricting gambling advertising. For years Australians have complained that gambling advertisements have become impossible to avoid. We have heard that this morning in this House again.

Schedule 1 introduces a comprehensive package of reforms designed to reduce the prevalence of gambling advertising and better protect children and families from exposure to wagering promotions. The measures include legislating a ban on wagering advertising during the live broadcasts of sporting events between the hours of 6 am and 8.30 pm, as well as prohibiting the broadcast of betting odds during these times.

It's clear there is community concern about the volume of gambling advertising on television. In 2024, viewers could be exposed to as many as eight gambling ads within a single hour of programming. To address this, the government, through these bills, will introduce a cap of three gambling ads per hour between 6 am and 8.30 pm, ensuring that Australians are no longer inundated with wagering promotion.

The reforms will also protect children during the daily commute by prohibiting gambling advertising on radio during school travel times. In addition, all gambling advertisements that are permitted to be broadcast will be subject to stricter requirements with harmful or misleading advertising practices prohibited. Children should grow up admiring athletes not betting companies.

Parents should be able to watch football with their kids without gambling advertisements appearing every few minutes, and sports should be about teamwork, should be about competition, should be about community, not encouraging people to place another bet. The government is committed to addressing the growing connection between Australia's love of sport and the increasing promotion of gambling.

Today's gambling advertising is deeply embedded throughout the sport experience. Gambling logos appear on player uniforms and are at game venues, while gambling promotions are— An honourable member interjecting— Ms JARRETT: Yes, they are. They're predominantly displayed at sporting venues and broadcasts.

Australians are passionate about sport. That's a great thing. However, we really do not want to be constantly exposed to gambling advertising while we're watching our kids or participating in the games that we love.

This legislation will change that. The bill introduces rules that gambling advertising cannot be shown during live play, regardless of the time of day. It also makes Australian sports a gambling-advertising-free environment by prohibiting gambling promotions on sporting uniforms and at sporting venues.

These restrictions will extend to training sessions, press conferences and amateur and grassroots sporting events. By taking these steps, we will help restore sport as a space focused on community, on competition, on team building and on self-esteem rather than gambling promotion. The government is also introducing a ban on online gambling.

Digital platforms have become one of the fastest-growing sources of gambling advertising. This prohibition will rightly apply across digital platforms, including social media services, news websites, streaming services, podcasts, music-streaming platforms, video-sharing platforms and search engines. There will be a limited exception, which will apply where a user is logged onto an account, is verified as being over 18 years of age and is provided with a clear option to opt out of receiving gambling advertising.

It's a triple-lock approach that is designed to ensure that children are not exposed to gambling advertising online. It will also empower adults who do not wish to see gambling advertising online, whether they're streaming content, using social media, browsing the internet or conducting online searches, to opt out of receiving such advertisements. Just last week, every time I turned on my phone first thing in the morning and went to watch a news broadcast, I was hit with a gambling ad from an online platform.

Online platforms will be responsible for implementing and enforcing these requirements. Where platforms do not comply with these obligations, they will not be permitted to display gambling advertising to any user at any time. This recognises a simple reality: children today—and adults today!—spend enormous amounts of time online.

If we are serious about protecting young Australians and older Australians, gambling reform cannot stop at the television. It has to include the digital world as well. Through the reforms, Labor is also strengthening BetStop the National Self-Exclusion Register.

People suffering from gambling often reach a point where they genuinely need help. The challenge is that addiction makes it difficult to stop. BetStop gives Australians a practical way to exclude themselves from licensed wagering providers.

Labor's reforms strengthen this system, making it more effective and more responsive for people seeking support. Many people in my community of Brisbane have highlighted the devastating impact that problem gambling, particularly through poker machines, can have on individuals, families and communities. The government is deeply concerned about the prospect of these harms extending beyond traditional venues and into people's homes and onto their mobile phones.

This is why this bill also bans online keno, the so-called pocket pokies. They combine rapid-draw formats, continuous play and high spending limits, creating an environment that can facilitate significant gambling harm. In some cases, individuals have lost up to $1,000 in just three minutes.

Given the risks involved in the absence of any broader community benefit, the government really is unapologetic about taking strong action to prevent these products from operating online. Importantly, Labor understands that regulation alone isn't enough. The government is investing in financial counselling services specifically designed for Australians experiencing gambling related hardship—the flip side of the coin.

Families dealing with gambling addiction often experience debt, relationship breakdown, housing insecurity and severe mental health challenges. Providing practical financial support alongside regulatory reform demonstrates Labor's broader philosophy that governments should not simply punish the problem but help people overcome them. The government is also investing in a public awareness campaign to help with this.

Education does matter. Australians deserve to understand the risks associated with online gambling, particularly young adults who've never experienced a world without betting advertisements. Public education has transformed attitudes.

I remember way back in the day it was about seatbelts in cars. We've had smoking, drink driving and skin cancer. There is every reason to believe that similar awareness campaigns can reduce gambling harm over time.

Labor is also cracking down on illegal offshore gambling. These companies often operate outside Australian law, providing little consumer protection and avoiding paying Australian taxes. Removing illegal operators helps protect consumers while supporting the integrity of Australia's regulated wagering industry.

Through this bill, the government is trying to strike a balance between consumer protection, sporting organisations, broadcasters, employers, employment and personal freedom. Labor has chosen evidence over ideology here, and the reforms, as we've heard earlier today, have been informed by years of parliamentary inquiries. We should also recognise the broader Labor philosophy behind these reforms.

Labor believe markets are powerful. Businesses create jobs. Competition drives innovation, but markets also require rules.

When industries profit from products capable of causing addiction and harm, governments do have a responsibility to step in and ensure safeguards exist. As I said earlier, principles like this apply to pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco and increasingly gambling. It's not antibusiness.

It's responsible government. Sectors like banking, the aviation industry, food safety et cetera have all operated under significant regulation because Australians expect safety and integrity. While this bill is introducing significant reforms, we have all seen last week's Senate inquiry, which showed us the most toxic version of inducements.

Our government condemns those alleged actions in the strongest form. I also want to thank the people of Brisbane who reached out to me about this and the need for gambling reforms to go further. The government is listening to you and will work with those opposite to strengthen protections.

This will be flagged in amendments to this bill. We will continue negotiating in good faith, and I really do call on all members in this place to work with us to get this bill passed for the betterment of our nation. One particularly important aspect of these reforms is breaking the link between gambling and sport.

Many young Australians today struggle to imagine professional sport without betting sponsorship. That should concern all of us. Sports really should inspire participation, teamwork, healthy competition and not encourage financial risk-taking before kids are even old enough to understand probability and the harm it can cause.

Reducing that constant association is an investment in future generations. These reforms also send an important cultural message. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it should be aggressively marketed everywhere.

Australians increasingly recognise this distinction. We regulate alcohol advertising, we regulate tobacco, and we regulate prescription medicines. Reasonable limits on gambling advertising simply recognise the potential harms associated with excessive gambling.

What Labor is changing is the relentless marketing that has normalised betting across almost every sporting event and media platform. It's an important distinction, and it's about informed choice, not prohibition. Ultimately, governments are judged not only by the economic statistics but by the wellbeing of the people they serve—a government that protects children, a government that supports families, a government that helps those experiencing addiction, a government willing to stand up to powerful industries where necessary.

Those are Labor values, and the Albanese government's gambling reforms reflect a belief that economic success and social responsibility should go hand in hand. They recognise that freedom must be accompanied by responsibility, that prosperity should benefit communities and that vulnerable people deserve protection. As implementation continues, there will undoubtedly be further discussion, improvements and refinements to this legislation.

What matters is that Australia is finally moving in the right direction. After years of community concern, Labor is doing something about it. Labor is acting.

These reforms present meaningful progress towards reducing gambling harm, protecting children from relentless advertising, strengthening support services and ensuring Australia's gambling industry operates with greater responsibility and accountability. We need to continue to work together to get these reforms right.