Key Points
- Two in five Australian adults gamble weekly, according to a new survey.
- Australians lose an estimated $25 billion to legal gambling every year.
- Crossbenchers are demanding action from the government.
Key crossbenchers are demanding a crackdown on the gambling industry, with Senator Jacqui Lambie accusing politicians of not "giving a crap" about its impacts on society provided it funds election campaigns.
, the highest per capita hit in the world, with online gambling the industry's fastest-growing section.
Research conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies revealed nearly two in five Australian adults surveyed gamble every week, and nearly half (46 per cent) of gamblers are considered at risk of harm.
The study, released on Monday, , while more than three-quarters believe there are too many opportunities to bet.
After it drew links between the saturation of advertising and harmful gambling, the government - which needs support from the Greens and two independents to pass legislation in the Senate - is facing pressure to act.
Senator Lambie demanded federal and state Labor governments "actually do something and stop worrying about your donors", saying the impact of gambling in her community "absolutely breaks your heart".
She told SBS News the time had come for a ban on any gambling advertising "whatsoever".
“Aren’t you already making enough bloody money off the misery of society?” she asked.
Should gambling firms be allowed to make political donations?
The government has launched a parliamentary inquiry into the impact of gambling, with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland insisting Labor was focused on ensuring vulnerable Australians “are kept safe”.
Labor is also pushing ahead with a national self-exclusion register - named BetStop - which it says will enable problem gamblers to preemptively block themselves off from online gambling.
Ms Rowland described the inquiry as the “most rigorous inquiry” of its kind in a decade, saying it will “inform the government’s thinking”.
“We were very strong on harm minimisation, and what we are doing right now … demonstrates that we are seriously committed to reform in this area; for the benefit of consumers, for the benefit of Australians and particularly to help vulnerable Australians,” she said.
But independent senator David Pocock told SBS News the need for "more than just simply slogans at the end of ads" was already clear.
"It is nobody's benefit, other than the betting companies, for gambling to be normalised to the extent that young people think: This is just normal, this is what adults do," he said.
"It's not good enough, and we can change it."
Ms Rowland herself resisted calls for her resignation in February, .
She insisted she had not breached the ministerial code because neither donation reached the threshold for mandatory disclosure, but she later accepted the public "expects better" and pledged not to take additional money from the company.
Michelle Rowland insists harm minimisation is Labor's priority. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
“Here’s a good idea: Get your boots on and go and earn your seats, instead of buying them out of the misery of your society,” she said.
Senator Pocock said there is a "strong argument" that the gambling companies should not be making political donations at all, describing the harm posed by gambling as an "inconvenient truth" for politicians who benefit.
"This is an issue that myself and many other crossbenchers will continue to push the government on until we get the kind of reforms that are going to protect young people.
"At a time where people are saying people are doing it tough, we know that it disproportionately affects people who can't afford those sorts of losses."
A 'moral issue'
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young on Monday framed combating gambling addiction as a "moral issue".
"It is simply wrong that gambling companies are able to target Australian children through online advertising and through running betting ads during sports matches. It is morally wrong," she said.
"I don't care how many dinners the minister has, or how many dollars in donations she collects. She must accept that her job now is to clean this up."
Incoming NSW Premier Chris Minns will trial cashless pokies, instead of sweeping reforms promised by his predecessor Dominic Perrottet. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins/James Gourley
But Labor's victory will instead prompt a small trial of cashless pokie machines, with a view to reform later down the line.
“Here's the new premier, Premier [Chris] Minns. What are you doing about the harm that it brings your people in New South Wales, Minns? Are you gonna have a spine?" Senator Lambie said.
"It is the most embarrassing moment of today that the Liberal Party is out on the front foot against gambling, and Labor's like sleepy, sleepy, still comatose."
