Gambling reform changes unveiled to beat damning report

In a last-minute effort to counter a damning Senate committee report, the Labor government unveiled sweeping changes to its gambling reforms on Monday night. The report criticized the government's attempt to protect vulnerable individuals from gambling addictions as being too little, too late, highlighting concerns about the connection between betting and sport, as well as the exposure of children to gambling.

Senator David Pocock, an independent, stated that the proposed changes did not constitute a public health response to a public health issue and accused the government of leaving gambling advertising embedded in sport and Australian media while shifting responsibility onto parents. The government, however, appeared to anticipate the critical contents of the report and announced amendments that included restrictions on inducements and limited commissions for affiliate agents.

The Greens, who had previously stated they would not support the bill in its earlier form, welcomed the changes, calling inducements "a toxic practice that prey on those who can least afford to gamble and must be outlawed." The government also pledged a new opt-out register for gambling ads, similar to the Do Not Call register for spam calls, in response to concerns raised about the difficulty of managing individual opt-out options on each online service.

Critics, including the coalition, argued that the drawn-out changes were far too delayed, noting that many recommendations from a previous report by Labor MP Peta Murphy had not been included in the reforms.