And in NSW – the state with almost as many pokies as the rest of the country combined – the most recent state election was fought at least in part on pokies reforms. While the policies being debated were more focused on money laundering risks than gambling harm, both major parties brought policies to the table. And disquiet about the proliferation of online gambling harm triggered the 2023 Murphy Inquiry, which made 31 recommendations supported by multi-partisan consensus – a rare feat. Most prominently, the federal government has taken more than 14 months to respond to the Murphy Inquiry into online gambling, which handed down 31 recommendations in 2023 with multi-partisan backing. The delayed response has left big gaps in consumer protection, and demonstrates once again how politically challenging it is to achieve good policy in this space. Chapter 2 shows that governments have failed to take the necessary steps to prevent gambling harm, mainly because of the political risks of taking on the industry and its allies.
The federal government should ban all gambling advertising, sponsorships, and inducements. If Australian governments are serious about preventing gambling harm, they will need to bolster their efforts and take action to both reduce the pervasiveness of gambling in Australia and make gambling safer. The gambling industry’s political power lies in its ability to influence elections. They can make their presence known locally, with pokies providers in almost every electorate, stoke community fears about loss of jobs and services (Chapter 4), and they exert financial influence too.
- Mandatory pre-commitment for pokies should be a priority given that pokies are a particularly harmful form of gambling (see Chapter 1).
- Casino chips are also accepted when ordering beverages at the gaming tables or gaming machines.
- The federal government has responsibility for online gambling but is yet to step up and really own this role.
- Many past attempts to strengthen consumer protections for gambling have been thwarted by vested interests, so gambling reform is now considered very politically risky.
The banned lottery
Pre-commitment for pokies would be a small, one-off hassle – like signing up for a library card or public transport card.255 For online gamblers, who must already prove their identity to create an account,256 it should add little to the sign-up process. The time is right for federal, state, and territory governments to come together to implement a coordinated reform package. Taking action together is likely to be the most effective way to take on the vested interests. NSW has a particularly big job, with a lot more gaming machines than any other state (see Figure 3.3), and the majority requiring an upgrade or retrofit to enable limit setting.
Drive While Unlicensed Or Never Licensed
In parallel, the federal government should investigate the feasibility of a universal pre-commitment system with maximum loss limits. The three streamers who were invited to Melbourne for Shuffle’s fake prison game show were all based in the US, where online “crypto casinos” are also banned. At our casino affiliate website, our guides and reviews are meant for pure entertainment purposes. Visitors should use this information responsibly and in accordance with their local laws. We take no responsibility for the content or practices of external websites linked to from our platform. It’s essential to exercise caution and conduct your research when interacting with other sites.
In the meantime, governments should improve support services to help those suffering harm now. Gambling donations flow overwhelmingly to the major parties, who are most likely to form government.162 Clubs and hotels with pokies interests are the biggest gambling donors, followed by casinos (Figure 2.2). And gambling donations show a pattern of spiking when the ‘political heat’ rises, on pokies reform in particular (Figure 2.3 and Box 2). This report mainly focuses on reducing the harm caused by pokies and betting. Other forms of gambling can undoubtedly be harmful, but are either lower risk113 or less common,114 so play free lucky 88 pokies receive less attention in this report. The gambling industry will push back on these reforms by denying the problems and stoking community fears.