There are new concerns that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is caving in to demands from the gambling and media lobby to water down the late Peta Murphy’s bi-partisan supported gambling advertising reforms.

It has triggered an internal revolt from some Labor MPs, who are yet to see the government’s response to the landmark report into gambling reform, You Win Some, You Lose More.

While industry stakeholders enjoy expensive lunches and closed-door lobbyist meetings with the government, advocates working to reduce harm to children were told to sign a non-disclosure agreement to receive briefings.

Leading advocate to stop gambling harm Tim Costello said he would do no such thing, saying: “I’ve been working in gambling reform for 30 years … never once have I been asked to sign an NDA.”

It has only fuelled speculation that any back down by Albanese would be to assuage the gaming and racing industries, ahead of the looming election.

It is hard to see it otherwise, when the gambling lobby itself are the only ones who want limited reform.

The focus is on the Murphy report’s recommendation for a total ban on free-to-air television ads to curb the by-design exposure of children to sports-betting marketing. 

It’s a business model which incubates the normalisation of gambling in young people.

Private media and gambling companies, which suck in tens of billions in dollars and lost productivity every year, want the community to pay for what they say would be “up to” $300 million in lost free-to-air TV advertising revenue. 

Despite calling it a “death knell” for free to air, it is revenue they might never realise anyway from a format that is already dead in the water thanks to their own rationalisation of regional TV and newspaper assets, their failure to cut a deal with Meta over Facebook news and the advent of non-Murdoch global streaming services.

South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson Young called on Labor to “grow a spine” and stand up to the vested interests of bookmaker media.

“The gambling industry are parasites. They feed off misery,” she said, adding, “vulnerable children and those families that are being torn apart because of gambling” should not be subsidising the advertising revenue of free to air TV.

Hanson-Young said the Greens would force a Senate vote for a complete ban on wagering advertising across digital platforms, radio and television.

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock also warned federal Labor not to back any partial ban, saying he has been “inundated” by people across the country who want a ban on all gambling ads.

“We know from previous reforms that partial bans don’t reduce ads; they just move the ads around,” Pocock said. “We have a partial ban right now — and it hasn’t worked.”

Pocock described his briefing from communications minister Michelle Rowland’s office “underwhelming” and said he saw no indication the government would commit to keeping the recommended child protection reforms.

This includes banning the use of celebrity endorsements, ads during family programs on TV, gambling logos appearing on jerseys and stadium signage, and gambling ads on streaming services.

There is almost universal agreement these child grooming marketing tools must be phased out.

As Hanson-Young suggested the current fight over gambling advertising may well be Australia’s National Rifle Association (NRA) moment.  

The United States has long since decided that keeping the gun lobby happy is more important than protecting children from  preventable harm and death, as compromised politicians bow weak-kneed before their NRA donor-masters every election.

Implementing the Murphy reforms — which only ban the ads, not the betting itself — may well be the last chance to put paid to harmful child grooming practices in gambling advertising.  

The stakes could not be higher. 

Watering the recommended reforms down to keep gambling industry happy is a risky bet for Labor, given that its own Institute of Family Studies estimated in 2021 that 7.2% of adults (or 1.3 million people) are at some risk of, or are already experiencing, gambling problems or harm. 

You win some, you lose more and when a gambler loses big, it’s their family and community that pay the debt.

[Suzanne James has a background in writing policy, governance, risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks and in legislative compliance application.]