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

Senator HENDERSON (Victoria) (17:47): The coalition won't be supporting this amendment. In my second reading speech this morning, I laid out the many and vast number of amendments that the coalition has worked on and brought forward. This is now a vastly stronger bill than previously, of course.

But I just want to reiterate that in the bill now, with the coalition's amendments, there are now tougher restrictions on broadcasters. The data shows that, in relation to children switching on to watch live sport, the preceding 15-minute window is the principal window when most Australians seeking to sit down and watch their favourite game, switch on to wait for the whistle to blow and the game to start, so in the bill there'll be an extended blackout period that's been tripled from five minutes to 15 minutes.

There is a current prohibition in relation to gambling ads not being able to be shown in children's television programming in the industry code, but, unbelievably, the government's bill before it was amended allowed up to three gambling ads per hour in children's television programming and also didn't deal with gambling ads being directed towards children. That has now been resolved and is now prohibited, reflecting the current prohibitions in the industry code.

There's been an extension of this restriction window. The restriction window now starts at 5 am, as is the current law, rather than 6 am. Very significantly for the commercial networks, which apply the same broadcast rules to simulcasts of their programming, their terrestrial program on their BVOD platforms will be only on the condition that there will be no gambling ads allowed during video on demand catch-up TV programs.

There'll be tougher online restrictions because the government's bill previously weakened the online rules in a number of respects, including dropping the five-minute window. There have been some very significant amendments now incorporated into this bill and passed in the other place banning predatory inducements. These amendments combat some of the worst harms then caused and directed towards addicted gamblers where many Australians are really suffering.

There is a ban on staff commissions relating to customer activity to stop the horrendous conduct where gambling companies have been chasing those customers incurring very large losses. There's a ban on inducements to red flagged customers, including via social media targeted advertising, with very strong obligations on the wagering companies to monitor customers' activity and very big fines for breaches of that provision.

Despite what Responsible Wagering says in talking about the framework that is in place in relation to limiting inducements and red flagging problem gamblers and other gamblers showing real signs of harm, there are no laws at all, and there were no provisions in the government's bill until it was amended in the other place. These are very significant changes to the law, with the regulator having very strong powers in relation to the direct marketing of inducements.

There will be a complete prohibition for all new accountholders and, of course, there will be the cooling-off period for three months after for people who have deregistered from BetStop. The other really important thing—and this is incredibly important for families, including, of course, for children—is that every single family in Australia can, because of the coalition's amendments, go to the global opt-out register, a one-stop shop to stop all wagering ads online.

This will be established and paid for by industry. There will be 12 months of design and implementation. For those who don't want to use the one-stop shop, they can be assured that every online platform will be required to display the opt-out option for gambling ads very prominently.

That's another improvement to the bill. I think one of the most significant elements of the bill, and one of the most significant amendments brought forward by the coalition, is that publishers of gambling advertisements are now going to be directly liable for publishing illegal gambling ads, such as from illegal offshore casinos. They are a scourge on social media.

They are everywhere, and they are so hard to detect because they are so misleading and deceptive. They mimic the logos of the legitimate licensed wagering companies in this country, and that is a very, very big step forward. I can tell you, these ads are all over Facebook.

They are costing Australians billions of dollars, and the provisions now in this bill will ensure that the regulator has very strong powers not to just play whack-a-mole against the illegal overseas websites—they take them down, and they pop up in a flash—there is now direct liability for the publishers of these advertisements in Australia so that before a wagering ad is actually published, the publisher must ensure that that ad is being served by a licensed wagering provider in this country.

I very much respect my good friends Senator Scarr and Senator McLachlan. One of the great features of the Liberal Party is that we respect the freedom and the individual conscience of every senator and member who sits on the backbench, and they have the ability to cross the floor when they feel that they have no other choice. I did it last year in relation to another matter, and so I totally respect the very strongly held views of Senators Scarr and McLachlan, but I do say that this is a vastly improved bill, and I'm really proud of the work that the coalition has done in this respect.