Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026

Ms WELLS (Lilley—Minister for Sport and Minister for Communications) (16:25): I thank the member for Curtin for moving these amendments. The government will not be supporting these amendments. The government recognises the importance of harm minimisation and supports the argument that wagering-service providers have an obligation to uphold consumer protections.

That's why the government is implementing its wagering advertising restrictions through this bill, which places the onus firmly on wagering-service providers to change the way they market their products. In line with the amendment from the member for Curtin, the bill introduces significant penalties for noncompliance. If a wagering-service provider breaches the new rules, they could face fines of up to $364,000 for an individual and $1.6 million for a corporation.

The bill also strengthens BetStop, the national self-exclusion register, by: implementing the legislative recommendations made by the independent statutory review of BetStop, including enforcing mandatory information checks against the BetStop register to prevent circumvention, adding friction to the cancellation process to reduce early exits from self-exclusion; extending the minimum three-month exclusion period to all users, including those who have been on BetStop before, to reduce harm when users cycle on and off the register; expanding communications restrictions, minimising exposure to harmful or triggering messages; and requiring the linking of old and new wagering accounts to improve the use of data to detect harm.

The bill will also be amended to require the minister to review the proposed restrictions on wagering advertising and inducements as well as the wagering advertising opt-out register to assess the operational impact of the reforms, ensuring that they remain effective and fit for purpose. This will be in addition to the continuous monitoring by ACMA following the commencement of these reforms.

The bill already implements many of the measures moved by the member, including a live ban during sport across broadcast platforms, removal of wagering advertising from sporting venues and jerseys, and extension of the complaints investigations and enforcement framework. In fact, the bill also already provides for substantially larger penalties than the proposed amendments moved by the member for Curtin and gives the Australian Communications and Media Authority rigorous enforcement powers.

It also introduces rules that would ban advertising on online platforms unless they are triple locked—that is, unless the person is over 18 years of age, is logged into an account and has not opted out of wagering advertising. That being said, I note your conscientious leadership and dedication in this space, Member for Curtin, and I would like to thank you for your work here.

While I have the member for Cook, I would like to thank him for supporting our amendments, and to thank the whole shadow ministry. (Time expired) The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): The question is that the amendments be agreed to.