What was the Inquiry?
The Federal Parliament Committee adopted an inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on problem gamblers on 15 September 2022, following a referral from the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP.
Summary of recommendations
In this submission we have chosen to focus on our research examining the impact of gambling marketing on the normalisation of gambling for children and young people. We will not set out the well-established harms from gambling, which impact our most at risk communities, including young people.
Gambling has been described by the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission on ‘A future for the world’s children?’ as a “potentially large and unaddressed public health challenge for children” [Clark et al. 2020, p. 631]. Research has clearly demonstrated the impact of gambling advertising and marketing on young people’s awareness of, and receptivity to, gambling. While many people continue to talk about the normalisation of gambling for young people, we would argue that gambling is already normalised for young people, and significant efforts now need to be made to denormalise these harmful products in order to prevent the next generation of harm.
This submission seeks to address online gambling in the context of the current gambling environment, in which online gambling and gambling marketing play an increasingly important role. Our recommendations take account of the reality that many of the current concerns relating to online gambling can only be properly addressed through a comprehensive public health approach to gambling issues.
In this submission we outline:
- The importance of independent public health approaches to preventing gambling harm.
- The impact of gambling marketing on children and young people.
- What young people and their parents think should be done to prevent the exposure and influence of gambling marketing on young people.
- Recommendations for a comprehensive public health approach to gambling marketing.
What did the Inquiry find?
The Federal Parliament Committee released the You win some, you lose more Inquiry Report in June 2023.
‘You win some, you lose more.’ This government tagline on gambling advertising, adopted as part of the National Consumer Protection Framework, aptly sums up the evidence received during this inquiry. If the status quo of online gambling regulation, including but not limited to advertising, was to continue Australians would continue to lose more – more money, more relationships, more love of sport for the game rather than the odds.
This inquiry considered whether the current regulatory framework for online gambling and gambling advertising in Australia is fit for purpose and meeting community expectations. The Committee received powerful evidence from people with lived experience of online gambling harm, and from academic and health experts, peak bodies, community organisations and concerned individuals about the harm online gambling is causing to everyday Australians, the people they love, and to their communities.