Former Prime Ministers call on Australian government to implement blanket gambling ad ban
More than 70 signatories, including ex-leaders John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, sign letter urging ban to be introduced within three years as per the recommendation from last year’s parliamentary inquiry
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has received backing from former Prime Ministers and state premiers in its opposition to introduce the gambling ad ban within the next three years via an open letter to the Australian government.
The open letter, signed by 74 individuals including ex-Prime Ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, and former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, have accused gambling companies of “grooming our kids” and creating a new generation of gamblers.
Last week, the Labour government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, looked set to backtrack on the proposal pitched by their late MP Peta Murphy to ban all gambling ads and instead introduce a cap system which would see two gambling adverts per hour on each channel until 10pm.
Days later, Anthony Albanese’s government was accused of being “too scared or too lazy to take real action” by Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts co-founder Anna Bardsley.
With no concrete gambling ad ban in place, the open letter, which is addressed to the government and the opposition, has called for a public commitment to all 31 recommendations in the Murphy Report on gambling reform.
Signatories of the letter include former Australian Football League champion Easton Wood, former Victorian premiers Jeff Kennett and Steve Bracks, ex-NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and the Archbishop of Sydney, Reverend Kanishka Raffel.
A host of independent and Green MPs, as well as figures from the worlds of academia, health and social care, and the charity sector have all backed the letter.
In the letter, the group called for a blanket gambling ad ban, as well as the prohibition of promotions and inducements around sports betting which are “unethically used to ensnare people who want to stop gambling”.
Claiming one million gambling ads are aired on free-to-air TV and radio in one year, the letter says gambling addiction leads to A$25bn in annual losses as well as “partner violence, family break-up and suicide”.
Martin Thomas, Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO, said: “A total ban on all gambling advertising is essential to stop gambling companies targeting our children.
“Any decision to simply cap advertising, or limit a blanket ban to only social media, would be a win for vested interests and leave Australians exposed to significant harm.
“Australians lose A$25bn a year to gambling. But the real cost of inaction is the mounting financial ruin, mental health problems, suicide and the family violence that gambling can exacerbate.”
“Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton [Liberal Party leader] have a once-in-a-generation chance to embrace common sense, effective reform and end the vicious cycle of gambling harm that destroys families and communities.”
Former Prime Minister Howard added: “Many Australians are alarmed about the proliferation of gambling advertising on our screens and the mounting losses through gambling. I believe gambling losses are responsible for enormous harm across the community.
“As an unapologetic sports fan, I am troubled by how advertising is now linked with all our major sporting codes and what message this is sending to our children.”