Australia's Green Party calls for national gambling regulator in election manifesto
Adam Bandt’s party will also look to implement recommendations from 2023 inquiry led by late Labor MP Peta Murphy, including a ban on gambling advertising across all platforms
Australia’s Green Party has included the establishment of a national gambling regulator in its manifesto in the run up to the country’s federal election.
The election, called by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 28 March, is set to take place on 3 May.
As per the Greens’ manifesto, a national regulator would oversee licensing and compliance on the part of operators in addition to leading gambling harm-reduction efforts.
The regulator would also be given the power to dish out punishments to companies found to be in breach of gambling regulations.
The Green Party, led by Adam Bandt, would also want the regulator to clamp down on companies using regulatory loopholes by “addressing regulatory inconsistencies and creating a unified approach to gambling laws”.
Monitoring online gambling and deterring illegal gambling would also fall under the regulator’s remit.
A Green Party statement said: “Australia’s patchwork of gambling regulations allows the industry to exploit loopholes, evade accountability and harm communities.
“A national gambling regulator will provide consistent oversight, enforce strong harm-reduction measures and ensure that gambling companies are held accountable.”
In addition to establishing a national regulator, the Green Party has also vowed to implement the recommendations from 2023’s inquiry into gambling led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.
Alongside a blanket ban on gambling advertising, Murphy’s 31 recommendations included introducing a requirement for operators to verify their customer’s identity before accepting bets from them.
A ban on inducements was also proposed, as well as a legislated duty of care and a crackdown on illegal gambling websites.
The Greens plan to put in place a “comprehensive national strategy for online gambling in collaboration with states and territories” as well as fund a national education campaign on gambling-related harm, commission the Australian Gambling Research Centre to study the causes and effects of gambling harm and work with the government to ban gambling advertising across all platforms.
Improving gambling harm treatment and rehabilitation programmes has also been included in the party’s manifesto.
The statement continued: “The 2023 Gambling Harm Inquiry outlined expert-driven strategies to address the devastating impact of gambling on individuals, families and communities.
“Implementing these recommendations will create a safer, fairer gambling environment and support those experiencing harm.”
Australia’s Coalition Party has also prioritised a ban on gambling advertising during live sports broadcasts should it come into power.