Rev Tim Costello, Chief Advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform
27 Aug 2024
There are moments in every prime minister’s life where they face real tests. How they respond in those moments indelibly shapes their government’s future, and their legacy as either a true leader or a partisan plodder.
For John Howard, the test came just a few weeks into his first term of government, following the Port Arthur massacre.
Taking on the gun lobby in 1996, Howard risked his own life when facing down angry rural crowds who were against the legislation, and stared down those within his party who said such a move would split the Coalition and divide the party’s base. But Howard held firm on what he believed was right for the country.
Far from dividing the party, he went on to lead for 11 years, serving three more terms as prime minister. And one reason why Australia is not awash with gun violence today is because of that strength.
Almost three decades later, Anthony Albanese is now facing a test of his own with the gambling industry. A parliamentary inquiry commissioned by the prime minister and led by the late MP Peta Murphy has offered a clear solution to the growing national crisis that is gambling addiction. An extraordinarily broad coalition supports that solution – from all sides of politics, business, sports, media and even Howard. Even 53 per cent of Australians support a total ban.
So, will Albanese accept the bipartisan recommendation for a complete ban on gambling ads, or will he reject it and opt to keep the peace with an industry enjoying open season on our children?
Things aren’t looking promising. Instead of adopting the inquiry’s recommendations in full, Albanese appears to support a partial ban, that would only reduce the number of gambling ads, but not remove them completely – a move the Coalition supports in principle.
Though Albanese himself is not the cause of the tsunami of gambling ads we’re forced to sit through when watching a game of sport, shifting blame and criticising those who came before him, like Howard, for doing “absolutely nothing” is dodging responsibility. In 2007, when Howard left office, gambling ads weren’t an issue.
As tempting as it may be to think we’re simply different from other countries when it comes to a love of punting, we’re not. China, Ireland, England and countless other nations have rich histories of gambling, but none lose close to what we do. We lose the most because we have the weakest regulations, especially around gambling advertising.
Between May 2022 and April 2023, Australians were exposed to more than 1 million gambling ads on free-to-air television and radio. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimates that $25 billion is lost to gambling every year. That’s each and every Australian – you and me included – losing about $950 a year. The risk of domestic violence is three times greater in families where there is gambling.
One of Labor’s arguments in favour of a partial ban is that free-to-air television networks would lose about $160 million a year in ad revenue under a full gambling ad ban. But as 2GB’s Ben Fordham pointed out last week, that equates to just 5 per cent of revenue. While certainly not nothing, as we saw with the tobacco and alcohol industries, there will always be other advertisers ready to step in and fill the void.
The government also says banning ads would lead to a spike in illegal offshore gambling, but that is not something that has happened in European nations to have introduced similar ad bans. As Stewart Kenny, the co-founder and former CEO of global sports betting company Paddy Power (now Flutter, which operates Sportsbet in Australia), said in a recent interview with ABC’s RN Breakfast, “There is nothing that backs up that point ... It’s a load of baloney.”
The public wants leadership: not a ban on gambling itself, but a ban on gambling ads. This incessant wall-to-wall advertising is what’s brainwashing kids and destroying family fun around sports. No parent should have to explain to kids as young as 10 what a “multi” is.
As Kenny succinctly explains, “Quite simply, if you want to protect the children, you go ahead with a total ban. If you want to protect bookmakers’ profits, you go ahead with a partial ban.”
Despite all the evidence and all the public support, the decision is still a difficult one for the prime minister. There are powerful vested interests in sports and gambling industries, and within free-to-air media companies, especially when there is a federal election looming.
But this is what leadership is about: proving yourself when you face the test. It takes courage to stare down powerful interests and work with the opposition of the day in a truly collaborative manner.
Bipartisanship made passing historic, life-changing reform easier for Howard three decades ago. Today, the test is for Albanese. And Australians are asking him to lead.