Labor’s proposed gambling ad restrictions are “manifestly inadequate”, advocates and health experts have warned, after revelations print ads will be exempted and restrictions on broadcast ads will not apply until July 2026.
But there was some praise for the changes which were expected to include a broad ban on online ads and a ban on inducements, which the Alliance for Gambling Reform said would make a “significant difference” to problem gambling.
On Friday stakeholders were consulted about the changes by the communications department and minister Michelle Rowland’s office, without the use of controversial non-disclosure agreements as required at earlier meetings.
The consultation confirmed public reports, including in Guardian Australia, that the proposal is for gambling ads to be banned online, in children’s programming, during live sports broadcasts and an hour either side, but limited to two an hour in general TV programming.
That falls short of the total ban proposed by a bipartisan committee inquiry chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which backbench MPs were lobbying the prime minister to enact.
Under the current proposal, the ban on social media and internet ads would apply from July 2025, while restrictions on broadcast ads would apply from July 2026.
Print advertisements would be exempt, meaning gambling ads could still appear in newspapers. Stakeholders were also concerned that during family-friendly viewing times the cap, rather than an outright ban, would apply, exposing children to gambling ads in programs such as MasterChef and Gogglebox.
Martin Thomas, the chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said the proposal for caps on TV advertisements was “manifestly inadequate”.
But he added that “if there were moves to have a broad ban on online ads and inducements, that would be applauded and make a significant difference”.
Stakeholders were also told that the majority of 31 recommendations of the Murphy report were being dealt with by the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth.
The alliance has sought an urgent meeting with Rishworth to ask about the plan for the remaining recommendations, which include the use of logos on jerseys and in stadiums.
On Friday the Australian Financial Review reported that Sportsbet has called for those forms of advertising to be banned. “Excluding jerseys and in-stadia advertising from any live sport ban, as has been reported, would undermine the policy intent of any reforms,” a spokesperson said.
Associate prof Charles Livingstone, from Monash University’s school of public health and preventive medicine, said the reforms were “grossly inadequate”.
“Partial bans are going to be ineffective, with numerous loopholes for advertisers to continue to keep the product in the public eye,” he told Guardian Australia.
Capping ads to two an hour on TV makes “no sense at all” and appears to be to “appease the broadcasting industry”, he said.
“It’s the sort of proposal you enact when you think you’re being clever, but it doesn’t satisfy anyone. It won’t achieve what the committee sought, which was to de-normalise gambling.”
Livingstone said the consultation process had been “appalling” and “inept”, with the proposal revealed first in the media and then the first round of meetings subject to NDAs.
Anna Bardsley, the cofounder of Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts, said she did not “understand the government’s hesitation”, given the “overwhelming” view of the public is in favour of a ban.
“Why would we not see this as a massive public health issue for Australia?”
Asked about the 2026 phase-in, Bardsley called on the government to explain what the “obstacle” was to beginning the restrictions sooner.
“If they’re concerned about the media being adversely affected, help them out in some other way. Don’t throw our kids under the bus to rescue the media, that’s ridiculous.”
On Tuesday, Rowland said the federal government was still consulting in “a mature and orderly manner consistent with a proper cabinet process”.
Rowland said the government wanted to address “normalisation of wagering in sport, reducing the exposure of children to wagering advertising, and tackling the saturation and targeting of advertisements, especially in the online space, and especially to vulnerable groups such as young men aged 18 to 45”.
Senior government ministers including Bill Shorten have defended a partial ban on the basis media companies need the revenue from gambling ads, prompting the Greens to call instead for a tech tax to pay for journalism.
Guardian Australia contacted Rowland and Rishworth for comment.
• In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007
