QHA-Review_August_Digital
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Damian Steele<br />
INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT<br />
INQUIRY INTO ONLINE GAMBLING<br />
The Australian Government’s House of Representatives<br />
Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs<br />
has tabled the report of its inquiry into online gambling<br />
and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm,<br />
titled ‘You win some, you lose more’.<br />
This inquiry considered whether the current framework<br />
for online gambling and advertising in Australia is fit<br />
for purpose and meeting community expectations.<br />
Australians do not like being flooded by inducements<br />
to gamble online and worry about the effect this is<br />
having on young people.<br />
There is inconsistency across states and territories<br />
in how online gambling is regulated and there is little<br />
incentive to impose tougher regulations. As a result,<br />
the Northern Territory Racing Commission is Australia’s<br />
de facto online gambling regulator. The committee has<br />
made 31 recommendations that apply a public health<br />
lens to online gambling to reduce harm across the<br />
Australian population. They have recommended that a<br />
single Australian Government minister be responsible<br />
for implementing a comprehensive national strategy on<br />
online gambling harm reduction supported by national<br />
regulation, an online gambling ombudsman, a harm<br />
reduction levy on online Wagering Service Providers<br />
(WSPs) and a public education campaign, more<br />
independent research and improved data collection.<br />
Under national regulation, the Australian Government<br />
would be responsible for all regulation and licencing of<br />
online gambling, although states and territories would<br />
retain the capacity to levy point of consumption taxes<br />
on online gambling. The committee has recommended<br />
stronger consumer protections for online gambling,<br />
including a requirement for WSPs to verify their<br />
customer’s identity before accepting bets, a ban on<br />
inducements and a legislated duty of care on WSPs.<br />
The Committee also recommended a crackdown on<br />
illegal gambling operators including online casinos,<br />
skins and esports betting websites.<br />
The Report recommendations include:<br />
• establishing a dedicated minister for the reduction<br />
of online gambling harm<br />
• establishing a national online gambling regulator<br />
and regulations, and developing a national strategy<br />
(within 12 months) on online gambling harm<br />
including broad powers and severe penalty options<br />
• developing and funding an ongoing online gambling<br />
public education campaign<br />
• that WSPs disclose de-identified customer data<br />
to regulators and approved researchers, (to be<br />
informed by the exploration of data vaults operating<br />
in Spain and France)<br />
• multilateral agreements that combat illegal online<br />
gambling across borders<br />
• a harm reduction levy paid by operators to support<br />
the national regulator on best practice in harm<br />
prevention (training, treatment services, screening<br />
tools for gambling harm in mental health and drug<br />
and alcohol assessments)<br />
• a multi-stage evaluation of the National Consumer<br />
Protection Framework for Online Gambling,<br />
to include analysis of whether voluntary precommitment<br />
is reducing harm and to explore<br />
mandatory pre-commitment overseas<br />
• a requirement for customer ID verification on<br />
commencement of online gambling<br />
• a prohibition on all online gambling inducements<br />
• a national regulation to impose a customer duty<br />
of care on online WSPs and an investigation of<br />
benefits and feasibility of requiring WSP application<br />
of a standard behavioural algorithm to reduce online<br />
gambling harm.<br />
• a prohibition on staff and third-party commissions in<br />
the referral or provision of online gambling<br />
• an ombudsman for online gambling<br />
• that the Australian Government consult with<br />
industry and gamblers to determine bet limits for<br />
inclusion in national regulation<br />
• a ban on advertising phased in over three years in<br />
four phases:<br />
1. prohibition on inducements and inducement<br />
advertising, removal of advertising on social<br />
media and online platforms;<br />
2. prohibit online ads and commentary on odds<br />
either side of sports broadcasts;<br />
3. prohibition of all broadcast online gambling<br />
advertising between the hours of 6.00 am and<br />
10.00 pm; and<br />
4. by the end of year three, prohibition on all online<br />
gambling advertising and sponsorship.<br />
Gambling advertising on racing channels and<br />
programming should be exempt from the ban. The<br />
report will now be considered by the Albanese<br />
Government. While there is still a degree of<br />
consultation to follow, this inquiry is designed to<br />
highlight the different compliance obligations between<br />
online gambling and the activities which occur in our<br />
retail venues. As the hoteliers of Queensland know, our<br />
venues offering gambling products and our approved<br />
licensed wagering providers already operate in a harmminimisation<br />
focussed trading environment.<br />
<strong>QHA</strong> REVIEW | 41
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