Australia's gambling reform package has moved significantly closer to becoming law, with Labor and the Coalition negotiating a package of amendments that would introduce a national wagering advertising opt-out register and stronger restrictions on bookmaker inducements.
The Albanese Government introduced another piece of gambling legislation to Parliament on Monday as negotiations with the Coalition entered their final stages.
The most significant addition is a proposed Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register, designed to give Australians a single place to request that online platforms stop serving them wagering advertisements.
The proposal forms part of a broader compromise being negotiated between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, with approximately 15 amendments reportedly under discussion. The Coalition party room was considering the package on Tuesday morning, meaning the agreement should still be regarded as provisional rather than final law at the time of publication.
One register to opt out of gambling ads
Under the government's original proposal, online gambling advertising could generally be shown to users who were logged in, verified as adults and provided with a way to opt out.
Critics argued that system placed too much responsibility on consumers because users could potentially need to locate separate advertising controls across numerous streaming services, social networks and online platforms.
The government's new proposal is intended to simplify that process.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the register would operate as a "one-stop shop" through which Australians could opt out of wagering advertising on online platforms. The Australian Communications and Media Authority would establish and administer the system.
It is conceptually similar to Australia's Do Not Call Register, although the mechanics of applying a single wagering preference across different digital advertising systems have not yet been fully detailed.
The government has acknowledged implementation would be complex, and it is not yet clear whether the register will be operational when other major components of the reforms are scheduled to begin on 1 January 2027.
Bookmakers to fund the new system
The wagering industry rather than taxpayers would fund the administration of the opt-out scheme.
Labor has introduced legislation allowing a cost-recovery levy on licensed wagering providers, with the money used by ACMA to establish and enforce the new advertising framework.
That creates another compliance cost for Australia's licensed bookmakers, although the eventual size and structure of the levy will depend on the final legislation and regulations.
For punters, the practical aim is straightforward: someone who no longer wants to see betting advertisements online should eventually be able to make that request once rather than repeatedly changing settings across multiple services.
Inducements become a major focus
Perhaps the biggest change from Labor's original legislation concerns wagering inducements.
Inducements were not a central feature of the bill originally introduced in July, but they became a major political issue following evidence presented during this month's Senate inquiry.
The new proposal would give the government power to restrict the use of inducements by licensed interactive wagering providers and prohibit some forms of inducement-based direct marketing and social media advertising to particular customers.
The explanatory material also points to restrictions on attempts by bookmakers to obtain consent to send certain inducement marketing.
Exactly which customers and which types of offers will be captured will be critical for both bookmakers and consumers.
The reform debate has increasingly focused on the difference between normal sportsbook marketing and incentives specifically used to encourage vulnerable or high-spending customers to continue betting.
VIP manager commissions also targeted
Another notable proposal targets the way some bookmaker VIP and account-management staff are remunerated.
The government's latest legislation would restrict certain commission-based referral and customer-management arrangements. This follows scrutiny of wagering companies' relationships with high-value customers during the Senate inquiry.
There have been serious allegations presented to the inquiry about benefits allegedly offered to some large-spending customers. Sportsbet and Tabcorp have disputed those claims and said there is no evidence substantiating the most serious allegations.
Regardless of those disputed claims, the inquiry appears to have accelerated political support for preventing staff from having financial incentives directly tied to how much an individual customer loses or spends.
Senate committee backs the legislation
The Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee was due to report on the original Gambling Reform Bill on August 17.
Government senators recommended the legislation proceed, but the inquiry also highlighted substantial disagreement over whether Labor's reforms go far enough.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young continues to advocate for a complete ban on online gambling advertising and a much broader ban on inducements.
Independent Senator David Pocock has similarly argued that the reforms do not adequately break the connection between sport and wagering or implement the recommendations of the landmark 2023 Murphy Review.
Coalition senators have also criticised weaknesses in the original bill despite supporting the need for reform.
Coalition support is not completely straightforward
While senior Labor and Coalition figures have negotiated a package expected to allow the legislation to pass, there remains opposition within the Coalition itself.
Several Liberal MPs have argued the compromise does not go far enough.
Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Wallace has pushed for an opt-in model, where gambling advertisements would only be shown to people who specifically request them, rather than Labor's opt-out approach.
Other Liberal MPs were considering whether to cross the floor as the Coalition party room met on Tuesday.
That means the final shape of the reforms may still change before Parliament completes debate.
Proposed advertising restrictions remain
The new amendments sit on top of the broader advertising restrictions Labor announced earlier this year.
The existing reform package includes measures aimed at reducing gambling advertising around live sport, limiting the number of wagering advertisements shown on television and radio, removing gambling branding from sporting uniforms and venues, and restricting the use of celebrities and influencers in wagering advertising.
Online advertising has been one of the most contentious areas because Labor stopped short of implementing the full online advertising ban recommended by the Murphy Review.
Instead, the government has pursued age verification, logged-in user requirements and advertising opt-outs.
The new national register is effectively an attempt to make that opt-out model significantly easier for consumers to use.
What could the changes mean for Australian bookmakers?
For licensed bookmakers, the reforms potentially create another major shift in how customers can be marketed to.
Operators could face:
- tighter restrictions on inducement-based marketing;
- additional controls around VIP customer management;
- limitations on commission structures linked to customer activity;
- new requirements to honour a national advertising opt-out register;
- greater ACMA oversight;
- an industry levy to fund the new system; and
- the broader advertising restrictions already scheduled for 2027.
The exact commercial impact will depend heavily on the final wording passed by Parliament.
Some restrictions aimed specifically at vulnerable customers may have a relatively narrow effect, while a broader definition of an inducement could have much larger consequences for normal sportsbook marketing.
What could it mean for betting affiliates?
For betting comparison and affiliate websites, this remains an area to watch carefully.
Nothing announced so far amounts to a general prohibition on editorial betting content or ordinary affiliate links.
However, changes to wagering advertising and inducement rules could ultimately influence how bookmaker offers are described, where promotional advertising can appear and what forms of targeted marketing are permitted.
The distinction between editorial information about a bookmaker or betting market and paid or promotional wagering advertising will therefore be particularly important.
Until final amendments and regulations are published, affiliates should avoid assuming that every restriction applying to bookmakers will automatically apply in exactly the same way to editorial publishers.
At Before You Bet, we'll continue to focus on legitimate Australian-licensed operators, transparent comparisons, standard betting markets and factual product information while closely monitoring the final rules governing promotional advertising.
What happens next?
Labor and the Coalition are attempting to finalise their agreement during the current parliamentary sitting week.
The Coalition party room and Labor caucus are considering the negotiated changes before amendments are formally moved through Parliament.
If Coalition support is confirmed, the government should have the numbers required to pass the package despite continued opposition from the Greens and some independents.
The biggest questions still to be answered are how broadly the new inducement restrictions will apply, exactly how the national online advertising opt-out system will operate and whether additional concessions are made before the legislation passes.
What is now clear is that Australia's gambling reforms have moved well beyond the government's original July proposal.
Inducements, VIP customer management and online advertising controls have all become substantially more important parts of the package — and the final legislation could have significant consequences for Australian bookmakers, sports organisations, media companies and betting affiliates from 2027.
