Rein in Online Gambling

 

PROTECTING COMMUNITIES FROM GAMBLING IN NSW

Gambling is out of control in NSW. The state has almost half of Australia’s poker machines and loses more money per person to gambling than anywhere else in the world. However, online gambling poses even greater risks than gambling in a venue.  

Serious gambling harm is twice as high in online gambling. Online gambling means anyone can gamble anywhere, anytime on nearly anything. This is causing a huge spike in gambling amongst younger people.

The online gambling industry is poorly regulated and bombarding our screens, airwaves and public spaces with advertisements specifically targeted at young men. This is normalising betting by sending the message that it is all ‘part of the fun’ of enjoying sport. 

The Greens have a plan to reign in the online gambling industry and reduce gambling harms.

The Greens will: 

  • Establish a National Independent Gambling Regulator.
  • Regulate online gambling to reduce gambling harms with mandatory pre-commitment and a universal exclusion scheme across all platforms.  .
  • Ban all gambling advertising including TV, radio and online ads. 
  • Regulate gambling in video games and prohibit  ‘loot boxes’ being accessible by people under 18. 
  • End the grip of the gambling industry on politics by banning political donations from the gambling industry and restricting politicians and public servants from working for the gambling industry.

NATIONAL ACTION ON GAMBLING

Australia lacks a coherent national framework for dealing with gambling online and in venues. This has led to a patchwork of gambling harm reduction measures.

This also makes it harder to enforce online gambling restrictions with betting companies providing services across the country. 

This is why the Greens will establish an independent gambling regulator, tasked with providing national regulatory oversight.

ONLINE GAMBLING 

Online gambling is the fastest growing form of gambling in NSW. Almost 1 in 3 young people consider betting on sports to be normal. Online gambling has created the myth that it’s ‘part of the game’ while encouraging users to bet thousands of dollars over their phones without having to even leave their home. 

This industry has been unregulated for too long. The Greens will: 

  • Introduce a a universal and mandatory pre-commitment and exclusions system so users can set spending limits on, or exclude themselves from, all online gambling platforms 
  • Require affordability checks for users who wish to increase their default spending limits
  • End ‘multi bets’ that encourage users to place micro bets throughout the course of the game 
  • Ban any inducements to bet, including direct messages and ‘special features’
  • Require the regulator to report quarterly losses to online gambling by LGA
  • Prohibit credit cards for online betting accounts 

Gambling Advertising

Advertising and marketing have contributed to the normalisation of gambling. Gambling advertising has proliferated across TV, radio and social media and gambling sponsorships are swallowing up the sports that people love.

Almost 50% of 12 to 17-year-olds see gambling advertising on television during sports and racing events on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, 73% of people in NSW agree that gambling ads on TV should be banned. 

That’s why the  Greens will introduce legislation at a Federal and State level to:

  • ban all gambling advertising including street signage, tv, radio and online ads. 
  • Prohibit sports and other event sponsorships by the gambling industry 

GAMBLING IN VIDEO GAMES

Gambling has already tarnished some of our most loved sports, like football and cricket, and created unsafe spaces in our pubs and clubs. Now the gambling industry is exploiting a younger audience through features in video games that resemble gambling. 

Many video games now contain ‘loot boxes’ which offer an undisclosed prize in return for in-game points or real world money. These games are often aimed at children and can result in people under 18 racking up thousands of dollars in charges and developing a  dependency on gambling from an early age. 

Many gamers also now engage in ‘skin gambling’ where they gamble purchasable in-game items on gambling websites. Gaming companies facilitate this by allowing gamers to log-in to 3rd-party website and access these in-game items. 

The European Union recently voted in favour of a report calling for stronger regulation of loot boxes.  The report found loot boxes were often specifically targeting young people, obscured real world costs through the use of in-game currency and used deceptive designs and aggressive marketing to keep users spending.  

The Greens plan will: 

  • Expand the definition of 'gambling service' in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to include loot boxes, social casino games, and skin gambling. 
  • Ban randomised content and ‘pay to win’ in games that can be accessed by minors, with strict 18+ requirements.  
  • Prohibit deceptive designs and aggressive marketing that induces players to spend more. 
  • Require real world costs to be displayed alongside in-game currency. 
  • Require games featuring real world spending to give players the option to set predetermined spending limits. 

BREAKING THE POWER OF THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY

The poker machine industry has a long history of supporting the Liberal-National  and Labor parties through political donations and influence. For the last decade, the NSW Coalition has signed formal agreements with Clubs NSW to protect industry profits with Labor making similar promises

The Greens will:

  • Make agreements between  political parties, candidates and the gambling industry illegal
  • Ban donations from any organisation engaged in gambling at all levels of government 
  • Ban former politicians and their staff, senior public servants and parliamentary staff from working in the gambling industry for 4 years after they leave the job. 

HOW THE GREENS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR YOU 

In the last parliament, it was the Greens who:

  • Increased fines for online gambling companies that break the law. 
  • Made it harder for online gambling companies to advertise to customers. 
  • Introduced legislation that would prohibit clubs from donating to political parties.