REGULATION IN AUSTRALIA
drive consumers to the illegal market. 17 Perhaps the most notable element of the Bill is its failure to engage with the majority of the Murphy Report recommendations. The Murphy Report set out 31 recommendations to reduce gambling harm; however, the Response addresses only a handful of these. For example, while the Murphy Report recommended a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising, the Response stops far short of that recommendation, introducing only a suite of further restrictions on advertising. This was justified by Prime Minister Albanese on the basis that it seeks to balance protecting children from advertising with adults’ freedom to bet. 18 Despite these measures being designed to curb advertising, there remain questions as to whether they will be effective in practice. For instance, as discussed above, the Government has already limited some of the reforms by allowing NRL teams to retain jersey sponsorship until the end of their deals, which means Australian customers will continue to view gambling advertising on uniforms until at least 2028. Similarly, the measures contained in the Bill prohibiting gambling advertisements during live sport are only marginally more restrictive than the regulations already in place. While the Triple Lock restrictions may be more effective at reducing the visibility of advertising for children, it is unclear whether they will be effective for other vulnerable individuals (eg, problem gamblers) in circumstances where the restrictions will rely on the user opting out of advertising. By the same token, the steps required by the Triple Lock restrictions will mean that many consumers who are logged in and who are over 18 years of age will not see a notable difference in the number of gambling advertisements, unless they proactively opt out. On the other side of the debate, the Governmment has failed to consider the effect that further restrictions will have on television and radio broadcasters as well as sporting
codes which rely on the revenue obtained through gambling advertising. This point was considered in detail in the Murphy Report, which acknowledged that television broadcasters were ‘concerned that any loss of advertising revenue would affect their ability to make and provide content’. Similarly, the Murphy Report referred to submissions from sporting bodies which outlined that ‘revenue from sports betting, media rights deals and gambling sponsorship funds sport in Australia, both at elite and grassroots level’. At the professional level, it may be that the crackdown on gambling advertisements will affect the NRL’s next broadcasting deal, which is anticipated to be completed before July, 2026, as the decrease in gambling advertising revenue could result in the broadcasting deal being less valuable and therefore less appealing to prospective broadcasters. 19 The Bill also fails to introduce a federal gambling regulator, as was recommended in the Murphy Report, meaning that regulation will continue to be split between the federal and state/territory governments. Accordingly, the effectiveness of the current reforms (as well as any future reforms) will depend largely on cooperation between the federal government and the state/territory governments. For example, trade promotions are not currently regulated at the federal level, meaning that any new regulations which apply to trade promotions will need to be agreed between the states/ territories who may have different regulatory preferences and may be less willing to adjust the existing regulations in respect of trade promotions. By the same token, the Northern Territory (NT) regulator’s status as the country’s ‘de facto gambling regulator’ means that it will be more affected by the reforms than other states/ territories. For instance, to the extent that the reforms set out in the Response will drive wagering operators out of Australia, the NT will be affected more than other states as it will no longer be able to rely on the revenue derived from licensing
17 Rob Harris, ‘1,000 Days Later: Albanese Government Unveils “Scaled-Back” Gambling Reforms’, The Sydney Morning Herald (online, 12 May, 2026) <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/1000-days-later-albanese-government-unveils-scaled-back-gambling-reforms-20260512- p5zw1i.html>. 18 Ibid 19 James Madden, ‘NRL’s Record TV Rights Deal Ambitions Threatened by Government Gambling Ad Ban’, The Australian (online, 5 April, 2026) <https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/nrls-record-tv-rights-deal-ambitions-threatened-by-government-gambling-ad-ban/ news-story/a8f71e5f77c6ae0688e1bb47ff5d31b9>.
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JUNE 2026
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