Australia Inquiry Urges Online Gambling Ad Ban

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Online gambling advertising must be banned in Australia within three years, a parliamentary inquiry recommended on Wednesday, citing serious harm caused by an inescapable "torrent" that is "grooming children".

The inquiry said partial bans do not work and called for a "complete and gradual" ban that "leaves no room for circumvention."

Australians spend more on online gambling than citizens of any other country, according to the report, adding that almost half of those surveyed last year had bet on sports or racing.

"Online gambling has been deliberately and strategically commercialized alongside sport, normalizing it as a fun, harmless and sociable activity," said Parliamentary committee chair Peta Murphy.

"Gambling advertising is preparing children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behavior," he added. "The torrent of publicity is inescapable."

Gambling is big business in Australia, providing income for media organisations, bars and sports clubs.

The gaming industry is also a major donor to the major political parties.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tackling online gambling alone would not be enough.

"We need to deal with the problems online, we need to deal with the problems of social media, we need to deal with them comprehensively across the board," he said.

"It's not good to do just one part of the reform that then opens up and channels it elsewhere."

The Alliance for Gambling Reform called on politicians to support the proposed ban, with the group's main advocate Tim Costello describing Australia as "in the grip of a gambling epidemic".

He said: "There is an absolute need for a national strategy to combat the deep damage of gambling that is being wrought on communities across Australia."

"Every year, gambling causes $25 billion (US$16.5 billion) in losses to our communities."

Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents many of the country's gambling companies, said a blanket ban would be "a step too far", adding that it would encourage people to resort to "illegal offshore markets".

cm/arb/blood