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27 October 2026
Australia's House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has begun a sweeping inquiry into online gambling and its impact on problem gamblers. Launched on 15 September 2022, the inquiry aims to assess whether Australia's laws, regulations, consumer protections, and education and support programs are adequate to reduce gambling-related harms for Australian gamblers.
The Committee cited rising concerns over the growing reach of online gambling into Australians' daily lives. Of particular note, it flagged the increasing exposure of children and young people to gambling advertising, which the Committee says warrants closer scrutiny.
- The effectiveness of existing consumer protections for reducing online problem gambling;
- How to better target programs to address online problem gambling and shield individuals, families and communities;
- The effectiveness of current counseling and support services for online problem gambling;
- The quality of and access to protective online gambling education programs for gamblers and their families;
- Potential amendments to the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act to capture additional gambling-like activities, such as simulated gambling in video games, including loot boxes and social casino games;
- The appropriateness of current gambling regulations in light of emerging technologies, payment options and products;
- The effectiveness of protections against illegal online gambling services, such as online blackjack and slot machines;
- The effectiveness of current gambling advertising restrictions in limiting children's exposure to gambling products and services, including the promotion of betting odds during live sports.
Much of the inquiry's focus is on marketing inducements - incentives used by online gambling operators to attract new customers or encourage existing ones to gamble. According to an Australian government report, these inducements can include deposit matches, multi-bets, bonus bets, rewards programs and early cash-outs.
Barry O'Farrell, the former New South Wales premier who led a 2010 inquiry into online gambling, emphasized to the current inquiry the importance of stronger verification of gamblers' ages. O'Farrell has called for a stricter approach to catching and reporting underage gambling, pointing out that stricter age verification is a common-sense measure that most people can agree with.
Several Committee witnesses also highlighted the ubiquity of advertising from online gambling companies, particularly around sports. The inquiry wants to understand whether the current restrictions on advertising, especially on social media platforms, are adequate to shield young people from these marketing messages.
In its final report on the inquiry, the Committee is expected to make recommendations for protecting problem gamblers, including the possibility of a tighter limit on the wagering inducements that online gambling operators can offer. With the federal government yet to fully enact the recommendations of a major 2023 review of Australia's gambling regulations, led by Treasury official Pat Murphy, close attention will be paid to the Committee's findings.
The Murphy Inquiry, a major 2023 review of Australia's gambling regulations, was released to lawmakers in April of that year. According to Eric Knight, chief executive of the Australian Family and Gambling Reform Association, "The recommendations are fundamentally common sense protections to protect Australians from gambling harm. The measures help promote informed decision-making by reducing confusion and misrepresentation around the gambling risks."
The federal government has taken a patchwork approach to implementing policy from that review. It has initiated the process toward a 72-hour verification timeframe for new online wagering customers, down from 14 days. Legislators also approved a rule preventing online gambling sites from offering customers inducements to deposit money and gamble.
Regulated online gambling services in Australia, as defined in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, include online casino games such as roulette, poker, craps, online 'pokies' and blackjack. Online poker, as well as wagering on horses, dogs and sporting events, was legalized in 2001. But entertainment-only games such as scratchies and game shows have been illegal in Australia for more than 100 years.
Under the current regulatory framework, only online gambling services licensed by an Australian state or territory can legally offer services to Australian residents. That regulation is enforced and investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which is responsible for reminding online gambling sites of their obligations under the 2001 Act.
According to gambling reform advocates, federal bills put forward to shore up legislation around online gambling have lapsed and have not been revived by lawmakers. Advocates have called for clearer rules for online gambling sites, but that has not yet happened.
The Committee's final report is not expected before the end of the year. Online gambling operators, advocates for consumer protection and lawmakers will all be paying close attention to the legislative committee's recommendations. Ahead of the final report, the Committee sought input from the public about further administrative or legislative reforms to reduce harm in online gambling.
Some lawmakers have been calling for a comprehensive federal Gambling Reform Bill, modeled after the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering, which came out earlier this year. Many officials and reformers say the bill should outline a suite of reforms, including restrictions on inducement marketing, tougher age verification and limits on the ability of online wagering sites to accept bank cards and apply for credit.
What happens next for Australia's online gambling industry will depend on what recommendations the federal parliamentary committee comes up with, and how much support they get in parliament. Streaming sport is rarely broadcast without ads touting online betting promotions, but that could be curtailed. Free-spin bonuses and other inducements from online gambling operators could become more tightly regulated. And site operators would like clearer rules for age verification, but don't expect those to be watered down.
It's clear that the parliamentary committee's inquiry into online pokies isn't the end of the debate on rules around online gambling in Australia. Other topics, such as a potential buy-back of union rights to use their own bargaining arrangements for their own staff, will dominate political discussions.
The inquiry generated criticism from anti-pokies senator Pauline Hanson, but her objections were not detailed. Labor seems to want to align themselves with gambling reform advocates but hasn't made any major moves of their own. The Greens are leading the charge on breaking the big banks' grip on online poker.
Australia's online gambling industry, which has weathered previous government probes and changes to its regulation, will be watching closely to see what the federal parliamentary committee comes up with.