Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told the Labor Party caucus he is “confident” of passing sweeping gambling reforms with bipartisan support.
The legislation in question, the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, is expected to be presented to the House of Representatives next week.
Albanese himself has described the bill as the “strongest anti-gambling regulation that Australia has ever seen,” setting high expectations ahead of its introduction.
The government originally unveiled its package of reforms back in April, but previously announced changes to advertising rules drew sharp criticism from opposition parties.
That criticism centred largely on the view that the proposed advertising amendments did not go nearly far enough to address the scale of the problem.
While Labor holds a clear majority in the House of Representatives, the Senate presents a more complicated picture for the government.
To pass the bill into law, Albanese requires the support of either the Greens or the Liberal-National Coalition, and he has recently met with opposition leader Angus Taylor to work through the disagreements.
Amendments relating to gambling inducements appear to be the most significant development to emerge from those discussions between the two sides.
A senate inquiry into gambling advertising previously heard alarming allegations, including claims by former Australian rugby league player Luke Bateman that gambling companies invited him to sporting events where he was offered drugs.
The same inquiry also heard allegations that sex workers were made available to high-roller gamblers, painting a deeply troubling picture of industry conduct.
Under the Gaming and Wagering Commission Act of 1987, inducements are broadly defined as anything extraneous or distinct from core gambling products offered to players.
They are generally illegal, with a penalty of A$1,000 for using them to encourage people to open betting accounts or refer others to do so.
There are, however, various exceptions in the existing framework, including inducements offered through direct communications to customers who have opted in to receive them.
Such communications are not classified as “published gambling advertisements” and therefore occupy a slightly different legal position under current rules.
Albanese stressed the importance of “making sure that those issues are dealt with in a constructive way, making sure that we get the balance right between people who want to go along and have a punt on a Saturday at the races, but also, that problem gambling is actually dealt with.”
Beyond inducements, the bill is also set to contain amendments addressing the exposure of children to gambling advertisements across Australian media.
A cap on television advertising was already anticipated, restricting broadcasters to no more than three gambling ads per hour between 6:00 am and 8:30 pm.
That restriction becomes a comprehensive ban during live sport, forming part of the government’s broader effort to act on the recommendations made in Peta Murphy’s parliamentary report in 2023.
That report notably called for a total ban on gambling advertising, a position the Greens and several independents continue to champion strongly.
A previous set of reforms responding to those recommendations came close to passing in 2024 before ultimately being shelved, making the current push even more significant politically.
