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

Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (17:57): I rise today in support of the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill and the National Self-Exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill. As the Prime Minister said this week, this package of reform is about getting the balance right. It is about allowing people who want to place a bet in their free time to do so safely, while also making sure that we are dealing with problem gambling and protecting future generations of Australians from the harm that it can cause.

I want to be absolutely clear: this reform package is the strongest action against gambling that Australia has ever seen. I am sure there will continue to be debates between those who think it has gone too far and those who think it hasn't gone far enough. As I've said before, this is the hard work of government.

It's not letting perfect get in the way of progress, and it's making sure we consider a raft of unintended consequences that can flow on from the decisions that we make in this place. I was proud to be one of 400 delegates from around the country at the Australian Labor Party's National Conference in Adelaide a few weeks ago. Our great party's highest decision-making forum came together to recognise the significant work that our government has done to reform this industry.

Our national platform recognised that children and young people were especially at risk of gambling harm and we committed to strengthening measures around inducements. The allegations we have heard in last week's Senate inquiry around abhorrent alleged inducement practices showed why this is the right path forward, and I was proud to be part of that delegation that saw those amendments pass.

It is my very firm view that our government always has and always will be a government that collaborates, consults and listens when different opinions are shared and that is being demonstrated in real time as our Prime Minister and the Minister for Communications work collaboratively across the parliament right now in the spirit that I think all Australians rightfully expect to ensure that we get these reforms right.

The Prime Minister has said that there will be further strengthened reforms coming, and he has said clearly that we will be seeing further government amendments to this bill. It is my view that those amendments will really strengthen these reforms and make a difference in reducing the real harm that problem gambling is causing across our communities, and I look forward to seeing those amendments brought forward shortly.

This package is not about an arbitrary set of rules about when you can and can't see something on television, and it's not an attack on the many Australians who can and do gamble responsibly every day. This is about helping and protecting those who are losing their livelihoods, and more, because of a system that was set up to exploit them. I've heard so many heartbreaking stories from people in my electorate, throughout this debate, about what problem gambling has done to them or to someone that they love.

People have told me about family members gambling away homes; marriages breaking down; serious mental health impacts; and, devastatingly, lives lost to suicide. I've had people compare it to tobacco advertising and to the American gun debate. Gambling and gambling advertising has been described to me as 'insidious', 'toxic' and 'a public health crisis'.

I've had parents tell me how frightened they are for their kids, particularly their young boys. One parent said that their 11- and 13-year-old children could recite the names and catchphrases of six different online betting companies. And, as one local person put it—and we've heard it in here—'The house always wins.' Our government takes all of those concerns seriously, and we have committed to real change to crack down on the harms that gambling causes across Australia.

We know that sport has become far too linked with gambling. Everyone should be able to enjoy sport without gambling being treated as an inevitable part of it. Aggressive marketing strategies have been designed to lure in vulnerable people who are struggling, designed to keep people addicted and designed to keep company profits propped up on the suffering of everyday Australians.

That is why we are taking this strong and decisive action today. We hear the concerns of parents who want to protect their children from seeing gambling ads every time they watch the footy. Our changes seek to break that link between sport and betting and to minimise the exposure that children have to the harms of gambling advertising.

These reforms will reduce the overall saturation of gambling ads on television, radio and the internet. We want Australians to be in control of what gambling ads they see and where and how they see them, so that those who want to can have a responsible bet and those who don't can avoid the bombardment. So what does this mean, practically?

From 1 January 2027, this bill will ban the ads on TV during all live sport between specific hours, and establish frequency caps outside of specific hours; ban gambling promotion by celebrities, athletes and influencers, who are being used to target kids and younger Australians, especially young men; ban stadium and jersey advertising; ban ads on radio at school drop-off and pick-up times; and ban online advertising, except where users have an account with an opt-out functionality to allow users to opt out of gambling advertising and apply a family-friendly account setting.

Importantly, if the online platforms choose not to implement these restrictions, they will not be able to show ads to anyone, anytime. These are important changes. These are changes that will make a difference.

And they are the biggest changes that we have seen on gambling advertising. I would like to point out that today's package of reforms is not the first step we have taken to reduce harm from gambling. It is only the latest in what I have already said is the strongest action against gambling that we have ever seen in this country.

Three years ago, our National Self-Exclusion Register, BetStop, was launched. Since then, it has supported around 61,000 Australians to exclude themselves from gambling, helping those struggling with it to reclaim their lives. Nearly 40 per cent of those registered on BetStop have also opted for a lifetime ban, showing the power that this platform can have in supporting vulnerable people to recover from gambling harm.

Once someone is registered on BetStop, wagering companies cannot take bets from them. They can't open betting accounts for them. And, importantly, they can't directly market to them, such as through emails and SMS.

As part of those reforms, wagering companies were also required to promote BetStop. While the BetStop review found the system is working, we don't think enough people know that it exists. The review found that only one in four people were aware of BetStop.

Of those who had placed a bet in the last 12 months, only one in three knew about this important protection measure. This legislation seeks to strengthen BetStop, to make sure that more people know about the difference it could be making to their lives by funding a standalone advertising campaign along with strengthened education campaigns to boost community awareness of BetStop.

At the same time, these changes improve data matching between BetStop and industry systems and increase monitoring and compliance activities with online wagering providers. This bill will also ban online keno, the rapid-draw pocket pokies. These platforms are seeing people lose up to $1,000 every three minutes, which is just not acceptable, so we'll put a stop to it.

In addition, this bill is also protecting small businesses, local newsagencies and charities from harmful and emerging lottery products. These products operate through loopholes that allow them to act as a middleman, buying a ticket in the offshore lottery on someone's behalf on the claim they will deliver the winnings to them if they do win. The law doesn't allow Australians to buy tickets in offshore lotteries, and these nefarious actors have found ways to get around that, so we're putting a stop to it.

We're also closing regulatory gaps that allow some operators to offer lottery-style products under the guise of trade promotions and rewards clubs, because they are not always subject to consumer protections, and they can undermine legitimate charity fundraising and genuine business loyalty programs. Charity lotteries estimate these fake lotteries diverted more than $60 million from the charity sector in 2024.

Closing this loophole will protect genuine Australian lotteries, including charities. We're making match-fixing criminal offences consistent across Australia, improving the integrity of Australian sport and lessening its appeal as a target for criminal infiltration. On top of this, our government has also previously legislated a ban on the use of credit cards for online wagering so that you can't place bets with money you don't have.

Our national consumer protection framework also includes mandatory identity verification, deposit limit tools, restrictions on inducements and direct marketing, clearer activity statements and stronger responsible gambling safeguards. I do want to acknowledge the incredible work of Peta Murphy, who was a tireless advocate for strong reform on gambling. Peta's work as chair of the House of Representatives inquiry into online gambling and the You win some, you lose more report are what has put us on this path today.

We remain grateful for all that she worked so hard for. As I said at the start of this speech, I know there will continue to be strong debates on both sides of the fence about whether these reforms go too far or don't go far enough. I welcome open and transparent debates on these difficult topics, as I do around all of the tough conversations that we need to have in our community.

We can only get things right when we talk about them and when we debate them, factually and transparently. Part of our job as the government is to make sure the balance is right. To achieve that, we also have to think about unintended consequences, particularly for our regions.

We need to be working with free-to-air television, because that industry is under enormous pressure already, particularly in regional areas like the Illawarra. We must see sport continue to be shown live and free in our communities. Local sporting clubs in the regions are also under pressure.

I hear from my local clubs all the time that they are struggling to get the financial backing that they need. We don't want to see adverse outcomes in that area either. That is also on my mind, and that is why it's so important to consult, to collaborate and to work with all stakeholders on these changes.

We will continue to work with the streaming platforms, with free-to-air networks and with sporting clubs to ensure that we get that balance right and to ensure that Australians can continue to watch and play the sport that they love. What I would like to say in conclusion is that I truly hope everyone across our parliament can take that collaborative spirit forward as we discuss these reforms.

These are reforms that Australians feel incredibly passionate about. They are reforms that Australia needs, and our communities rightly expect that these discussions are undertaken in good faith. Australians want to see these laws passed.

They want to see strong action taken, and I would really call on all members of this place to work constructively with the government to see that happen. This doesn't have to be the end of the road. These are big changes.

These are important changes. They steer us in the right directions, and they put protections in place that have been needed for decades, just like in changes with tobacco and just like in changes with alcohol. None of these changes happened with one piece of legislation, with one change in one moment of time.

We started down a road, and we made adjustments that were appropriate over time. I'll say it again, because it is so important: these are the biggest changes that Australia has ever seen when it comes to gambling advertising. No government has ever had the guts to make this sort of change.

Only the Albanese Labor government has taken this on because we are not afraid of hard work, of having hard conversations with our community and with industry. Only the Albanese Labor government has tackled this systemic problem that has been growing for generations, and we'll keep working to protect local communities now and into the future.