🧠 Most Aussies want gambling ads gone

A huge majority of Australians want gambling ads cut back — if not completely scrapped.

Which, honestly, is a bit surprising. Australians disagree on things for fun — like whether Melbourne or Sydney is better (obviously, it’s Gundagai — have you seen the Dog on the Tuckerbox?).

But when it comes to gambling ads? The country’s pretty united.

This report shows that gambling ads are clearly reaching a younger market — with 1 in 3 teenagers aged 12-17 already gambling, and nearly half of 18-19 year olds following the same path.

💸 Gambling is massive business

In just one year — 2022 to 2023 — Australians spent a staggering $32 billion on gambling.

We love a punt. But that love comes with consequences.

📘 There’s already a plan to fix it

The proposed fix? It exists — and it’s called the Murphy Report.

Named after the late MP Peta Murphy, a key figure in gambling reform before she passed away from cancer in 2023, the report lays out 31 recommendations for tackling online gambling in Australia.

One of the biggest recommendations is #26: a phased-in, total advertising ban over 3 years.

Phase 1: Ban inducements, social/online media ads, and ads during school times

Phase 2: Ban ads around sports events and in-stadium ads

Phase 3: Ban broadcast ads from 6am–10pm

Phase 4: Full ban on all advertising and sponsorships

🕰️ So what’s the hold up?

The government usually releases a response to reports like this — saying what they’ll act on.

But it’s been two years and we’ve heard nothing.

“It’s not the public that’s the problem here. It’s the vested interests,” Tim Costello, Chief advocate for the Alliance for gambling reform, told the National Account, referencing the AFL, NRL, broadcasters like Seven, Nine, and Foxtel — and the sports betting companies they’re tied to.

🗣️ What the PM says

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked this month if his government would act on the Murphy report.

His response?

“I expect us to continue to do work as we have.”

We asked the Prime Minister’s Office to clarify what that “work” is. Their answer?

This response boils down to two implemented reforms:

• BetStop, a national self-exclusion register
  

• A ban on credit cards for gambling
  

Both are important — but neither came from the Murphy report. They’re from a different report released way back in 2015.

🤝 Why so slow?

In the Albanese government, gambling policy sits under the sport portfolio — the same one that manages relationships with the AFL and NRL.

That’s a big issue for Tim Costello.

“When you place a bet on an NRL or AFL game, the league gets a cut,” says Costello. The AFL earns around $30 million from this setup; the NRL earns about $50 million.

He says the problem isn’t just financial. It’s cultural.

“The AFL and NRL have culturally captured Labor… Albanese literally repeated Peter V’landys’ lines to me — saying lotteries are doing more damage than sports betting.”

📺 Media also has skin in the game

Communications Minister Anika Wells is also the Sports Minister — meaning she oversees both sports and broadcasters like Nine, Seven, and Ten.

These broadcasters have pushed back against reforms, claiming they rely on gambling ad money while, according to the Murphy Report, downplaying the exposure kids get to these ads.

Costello says gambling should fall under the Health portfolio, not Sport.

“You might as well put smoking and alcohol in with sport.”

😤 Where that leaves us

Despite overwhelming public support and a detailed reform plan ready to go, serious action seems unlikely this term.

“This government has a massive mandate,” says Costello. “And still, there’s no movement.”

The public is ready. The plan is there.

But unless there’s serious public pressure, don’t expect big change.

$20 says we don’t see action without it.