Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Australians are fed up with being bombarded by gambling advertisements.

We are sick and tired of seeing people, including our young people, treated as revenue streams by gambling companies, sporting codes and governments.

We have reached the point where seven out of 10 Australians agree that gambling advertising should be banned.

I don't understand why everyday Australians are having to push leaders who are resistant to this change. This should already be law.

That is why I am introducing my Interactive Gambling Amendment (Ban on Gambling Advertisements) Bill 2023.

I appreciate the member for Clark's support in seconding this bill and his tireless advocacy for reducing gambling harm, and also the support of Senator Lambie and Senator Pocock for this bill in the other place.

This bill would amend the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to ban advertising of licensed interactive gambling services such as telephone and online gambling, whether on television, radio, in print or online.

This ban does not cover excluded wagering or lottery services.

Further, exemptions are provided for political communications, business document, and antigambling advertisements (including gambling harm reduction advertisements).

And publication, broadcast or datacasting which is accidental or incidental is permitted, as are publication, broadcasting or datacasting in other limited circumstances.

Expanding the existing bans on gambling advertising is justified given gambling harm is now a glaring public health issue.

Australians lost more than $25 billion in 2018-19 on gambling, causing untold mental, social and financial harm to individuals, families, workplaces and communities.

This figure has undoubtedly increased since that time, given the dramatic growth reported in the interactive gambling sector during COVID and with the advent of people using their phones.

Online and telephone services now enable people to lose their homes while they are sitting in their homes.

With gambling companies spending $287.2 million on gambling ads in 2022, and an average of 948 gambling advertisements airing per day on free-to-air television alone in Victoria, we have reached saturation point. It is ridiculous.

Enough is enough.

We know that Australians are increasingly targeted by gambling advertising, which is particularly targeted at young people, who are being told to bet with their mates—quirky advertising that's funky and focused on young people.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has found that three in four Australians have gambled at least once in the past year, with almost half of them at risk of harm from betting.

The institute's 2023 report highlights concerning links between gambling advertising and increased betting.

As I said, young people in particular are reportedly more likely to bet on impulse or gamble more after viewing these ads. These ads are overwhelmingly targeted at them.

It's pretty sad when we get to a point where kids know all about this. They know about all the apps. They ask their parents if they've got the apps, whether they can place a bet. And a thousand times a day—we are kidding ourselves if we don't think this is causing harm.

We need to wean governments and sporting codes off their reliance on gambling revenue. And we need to provide adequate supports for the mental, social and financial wellbeing of individuals and families in our society who are suffering from gambling harm.

We need to show some leadership, ban predatory gambling advertising and develop evidence based strategies to treat gambling harm as a public health issue, instead of treating people like cash cows.

I look back in time to 1992. That was the time when in this place we banned cigarette advertising. It's a legal product if you're over 18 years of age, but we recognised the public health harm of this. Since then, the major political parties have not accepted donations from cigarette companies. We need to do the same with gambling. We need to see this as an inherent harm, and particularly harming our young people. And it's going to take some courage by government to do this, but I say: let's be like 1992; let's make that have been in this place, because it is equally harmful. It is a public health issue—it's actually a public health emergency. I know there are young people who are harming, who have taken their lives because they've just got so much into debt, or who can't even watch a game of sport anymore for the constant bombardment of advertisements. And it's on all the channels, and that's why this bill will target it, whether it's on free-to-air, on radio, in print or, indeed, on streaming services and social media. We need to make sure that there's no corner that allows this to continue to happen.

I would like to provide the rest of my time to the member for Clark, who is seconding this bill. I commend this bill to the House.

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