Australian Senate Committee Endorses Online Gambling Reform Bills with Recommended Amendments

The Senate’s environment and communications legislation committee has endorsed the Australian government’s online gambling reform package. In a published report, the committee recommended passage of the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 and the National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026, while urging targeted amendments to strengthen harm-reduction provisions.

The bills amend the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The first introduces tighter advertising controls, platform obligations and enforcement powers. The second enables cost recovery for a national BetStop awareness campaign. The inquiry drew 97 submissions from public health experts, harm survivors, broadcasters, industry representatives, regulators and state officials. As reported by iGaming Business, the package responds to the 2023 Murphy inquiry without adopting its proposed blanket advertising ban.

Core Measures and Committee Concerns

The reforms cap wagering advertisements at three per hour between 6:00am and 8:30pm, prohibit them during live sports coverage in defined windows, restrict logos on venues and with influencers, and ban ads during school commuting hours. Online platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-18 access to wagering ads, incorporating a “triple-lock” of log-in, age assurance and opt-out mechanisms. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) powers to block unlicensed offshore sites will expand, banks gain authority to block payments to illegal operators, and certain online keno-type products and foreign-matched lotteries face prohibition. BetStop self-exclusion penalties will increase.

The committee highlighted that many children watch live sports past the watershed, exposing them to post-8:30pm ads. It flagged the opt-out model as likely ineffective given low rates of users altering defaults, warned that sponsorship transitions extending to 2031 would sustain exposure, and noted the bill omits a ban on inducements such as sign-up bonuses. Concerns included ambiguous definitions of “wagering advertising content” and “notable person,” reliance on ACMA secondary guidance, and the tight 1 January 2027 commencement. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the package as “the most significant gambling advertising reform by any Australian government ever” and said it would “increase protections for people who are most at risk of gambling harm while continuing to allow those who enjoy a bet to do so.” He confirmed the bill’s passage after agreement between Labor and the Coalition.

Responsible Wagering Australia CEO Kai Cantwell countered that the reforms risk pushing players “into the hands of criminal cartels running illegal offshore gambling sites.” Cantwell added: “This new global opt-out system, akin to BetStop, is proposed to be designed, developed and implemented in less than four months. Betstop, which is a simpler concept, took more than four years from inception to implementation.” The committee recommended explicit ACMA resourcing, possible shift to an opt-in model, clarified provisions, shortened grandfathering periods and an immediate ban on inducements.

Where the Risk Lies

Bipartisan support makes enactment probable, yet the compressed timeline and acknowledged weaknesses in default opt-out and transitional sponsorships create compliance pressure for licensed operators. The enhanced offshore enforcement tools address one stated risk, but industry warnings that stricter rules on licensed providers could accelerate migration to unregulated sites remain unresolved in the current text. Regulators and operators will need to watch secondary ACMA guidance and actual enforcement outcomes after 1 January 2027 to assess whether the balance between harm reduction and legitimate market access holds.

Reporting: iGaming Business (iGB)

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