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.

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 live dealer online casino 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).

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.

Monetisation of virtual items

• They can make their presence known locally, with pokies providers in almost every electorate, stoke community fears about loss of jobs and services (Chapter 4), and they exert financial influence too.
• While this is unlikely – given how profitable pokies are216 – a substantial reduction in pokies numbers would come with great social benefits in reducing exposure to gambling,217 so governments should not shy away from the risk of a higher (one-off) cost.
• That would go a long way to reducing Australians’ excessive exposure to gambling.
• People who gamble, their families, and the broader community pay the price.

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.

Online wagering

To find out how to apply for an interactive gambling key person licence, as part of a licence application, contact OLGR. Only an eligible association can conduct charitable and non-profit games online, for profit. One of the primary objectives of the CNPG Act is to prevent individuals from obtaining a personal gain from the conduct of games such as raffles. Interactive gambling (including internet-based gambling) is regulated under both Australian and Queensland law.

The part-time watchdog for Australia’s $50 billion betting industry

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.

Australian Consumer Law applies to products and services consumers buy from all businesses in Australia, including gambling businesses. The total turnover of the territory’s bookmakers was $42.4 billion with a “tax revenue” of $18.8 million and the annual report attributed 749 “territory jobs” to the industry. The NT is the home of Australia’s $50 billion online gambling industry, with 43 corporate bookmakers basing themselves in the jurisdiction for its low taxes. Northern Territory crossbenchers have called for the government to establish a parliamentary inquiry into laws governing Australia’s controversial de facto online gambling regulator.

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.

This makes the ban on all gambling advertising and inducements (Section 3.1.1) all the more important. If Australian governments are serious about preventing gambling harm, they will need to bolster their efforts and take action to both reduce the pervasiveness of gambling in Australia and make gambling safer. Mandatory pre-commitment with upper limits on losses could provide that safety net (see Chapter 3).