Australia’s federal government is facing renewed pressure from both sides of parliament over its gambling advertising reform bill, with Coalition and Greens MPs arguing the proposed restrictions do not go far enough.
The criticism comes three years after the parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended a full, phased ban on gambling advertising. The government’s Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, introduced this week, instead proposes a cap of three gambling ads per hour on television between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., a ban during live sports broadcasts, and restrictions on online advertising for users under 18. The measures are scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2027.
At least half a dozen Liberal MPs raised objections to the bill’s scope during a Tuesday party room meeting, according to Guardian Australia. Simon Kennedy, the member for Cook, told the outlet that gambling “has shifted from entertainment to industrial-scale harm for too many Australians,” calling the legislation “a capitulation to the gambling lobby” that falls short on advertising restrictions, inducements, and protections for young people. Kennedy has previously spoken about a personal connection to gambling harm, recounting that a former teacher struggled with wagering addiction and that he accompanied the teacher to Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
Andrew Wallace, another Liberal MP pushing for tougher measures, argued that former opposition leader Peter Dutton’s proposal to ban television ads for an hour before and after sporting matches would have been stronger than the government’s plan.
Wallace described the bill as having “so many holes through it” and said the legislation amounted to a “half-arsed way of dealing with some of the damage that gambling causes Australians.”
The pushback follows an open letter published in newspapers several weeks earlier, signed by 17 Coalition MPs along with former prime minister John Howard and former state premiers Jeff Kennett and Nick Greiner, calling for stronger federal action on gambling advertising.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has defended the bill as a substantive reform package, telling ABC Radio that revisions made since the exposure draft were minor rather than substantive, and that she wants the legislation passed quickly to meet the January 2027 start date. Independent MP Monique Ryan has separately criticized the bill as a “milksop,” saying the government “listened more to the gambling industry, sports broadcasters and the sponsors than it has to what Australians want.” Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said her party will push to refer the legislation to a Senate committee for further scrutiny.
With the Coalition, Greens, and several crossbenchers all signaling dissatisfaction with the bill as drafted, its path through the Senate remains uncertain. A further Senate inquiry is expected during parliament’s winter recess, following concerns from both gambling industry stakeholders and harm-reduction advocates that the consultation process was rushed.
