Australian Senate Committee Hears Call to Extend Age Verification Rules to Sports Betting Apps

Responsible gambling advocates have urged federal lawmakers to close gaps in age verification for wagering services. The push targets the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026, which seeks to impose a statutory duty of care on online platforms to protect users under 18.

Sunita Bose, chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, and advocate Mark Kempster appeared before the Senate Environment and Communication Legislation Committee on November 10. They argued that age-assurance measures must explicitly cover betting apps and services to prevent underage access, according to reporting by GamblingNews.

Closing Post-Registration Access Loopholes

The Alliance for Gambling Reform told the committee that existing age restrictions at registration are not enough. The core concern is that children may borrow and use an adult's betting account after setup. Bose called for wagering services to be listed in the bill's age-assurance requirements as the first proposed amendment.

The second amendment would classify material or conduct that encourages children into prohibited betting as harmful. This change would enshrine gambling protections directly in the bill's child safety framework. The group noted these requirements already operate at the state level in the Northern Territory, where providers must block under-18 access.

The advocates' evidence to the committee builds on submissions made October 30. Parliament introduced the broader bill on October 15. The measure aligns with other recent Australian steps, including reductions in slot machines, limits on exterior signage, and exploration of cashless payments to curb excessive spending.

Federal Alignment and Next Steps

Bringing state-level obligations into the federal statute would create uniform national standards for wagering platforms. The committee's review of the bill offers a direct route to embed these changes. Operators will need to monitor amendments that could alter compliance demands for age controls on apps and sites.

What remains unclear is the precise technical form these federal age checks would take and how enforcement would interact with existing licensing regimes. The bill's focus on broader online harms provides a vehicle, yet the final scope for betting services will depend on how lawmakers weigh the advocates' input against industry operations.