For example, the federal government could take full responsibility for regulating online betting, while still enabling states to collect online betting revenue through their point-of-consumption taxes. State governments give away at least $1.2 billion in pokies tax concessions for clubs230 – more than enough to cover the cost of improving support services. Regulators should be wary that setting limits on how much people can lose while gambling creates an incentive for the industry to more aggressively try to increase its customer base.

2 Roll out mandatory pre-commitment with maximum loss limits

If some jurisdictions fail to step up, others should push ahead without them. Pokies venues would need to ensure that people can only gamble on pokies using their registered card, as per the Tasmanian model. Compliance with the mandatory scheme should be a condition of holding a licence.

Gambling can lead to financial and mental distress, relationship breakdown, family violence, and suicide. Pokies are more common in our suburbs than post boxes, ATMs, or public toilets. And they are particularly prevalent in NSW, which has almost as many pokies as the rest of Australia combined. For the full list of interactive gambling fees, read Schedule 3 of the Interactive Gaming (Player Protection) Regulation (Qld). Once a licence is granted, licensees must submit all proposed interactive games for assessment and approval by the Minister prior to being introduced in Queensland.

• The individualistic approach is promoted by the gambling industry.105 Blaming problems on a small group of ‘aberrant’ individuals absolves the industry of responsibility, and diminishes the case for stronger action by governments.
• Pre-commitment with maximum loss limits would prevent things getting out of hand.
• Despite not having any full-time staff, the NTRWC spent $1 million on “employee remuneration”, which a spokesperson said was used to cover the wages of its director of racing and wagering and its inspectors.

Clubs can offer social connection and sport without gambling

The online and pokies pre-commitment schemes recommended in Section 3.2.1 also offer this side benefit. The National consumer protection framework for online wagering (the framework)—jointly developed by the Australian and state governments—outlines a series of minimum consumer protections online wagering providers must follow. The industry contends that stronger regulation would push gamblers towards illegal gambling websites,259 which lack consumer protection measures.260 But the risk of illegal gambling is small compared with the known harm of the current environment. The federal government should assemble a National Taskforce and consider financial and other incentives to bring everyone to the table.

If you do not believe your proposed game fits within one of the categories below, you may wish to apply for an interactive gambling licence. Many online wagering providers are licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Government—see a list of gambling operators licensed in the Northern Territory. Read about resolving complaints and disputes on the NT Consumer Affairs live dealer online casino website. The time is right for federal, state, and territory governments to come together to implement a coordinated reform package.

Australian governments have historically legalised and promoted a wide range of gambling options.118 Today, governments oversee a tangled web of rules and codes for Australian gambling providers119 that leaves big holes in consumer protection. Australia’s gambling regulation is a mess and does little to reduce harm, let alone prevent it. Federal and state governments have different responsibilities, but neither are doing enough. Many past attempts to strengthen consumer protections for gambling have been thwarted by vested interests, so gambling reform is now considered very politically risky. The gambling industry will push back on these reforms by denying the problems and stoking community fears. But this report shows that their trumped-up claims don’t withstand scrutiny.

If you don’t get a satisfactory response, you can lodge a complaint with the government agency that issued the provider’s licence—this should be displayed on the gambling provider’s website. Despite not having any full-time staff, the NTRWC spent $1 million on “employee remuneration”, which a spokesperson said was used to cover the wages of its director of racing and wagering and its inspectors. Four Corners has uncovered allegations of conflicts of interest and pro-industry bias at the country’s part-time regulator responsible for Australia’s biggest betting companies.

Taking action together is likely to be the most effective way to take on the vested interests. Pre-commitment with maximum loss limits would prevent things getting out of hand. Mandatory pre-commitment for pokies should be a priority given that pokies are a particularly harmful form of gambling (see Chapter 1). Once a national pre-commitment system for online gambling is well established, it may be possible to extend the system to cover other forms of gambling too. Many video games include gambling-like features that familiarise children with gambling and can be a gateway to other gambling. Loot boxes, in particular, are a common gambling-like feature in electronic games and have been linked to gambling problems (see Box 4).