Australia tackles the odds: Sport’s new gambling reforms explained
Introduction
On 19 August, the Australian Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 (‘Gambling Reform Bill 2026’), delivering long-awaited reforms to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.[1] The Bill also amends parts of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth). Coming into effect on 1 January 2027, the reforms seek to address the pervasive presence of gambling advertising across Australian media and its role in the growing “gamblification of sport”. Betting has become increasingly intertwined with the experience of watching and engaging with Australia’s favourite sporting codes, embedding sports betting so deeply within the nation’s sporting psyche that the two have become seemingly inseparable.
The reforms come against a longstanding backdrop of concern about the scale and impact of gambling harm in Australia, with repeated calls for stronger regulation failing to translate into meaningful reform. As outlined in the Bill’s Explanatory Memorandum, Australians lost an estimated $32.2 billion on legal gambling products in 2023 - 2024, making Australia officially the nation of the world’s biggest gambling losers. This represents a substantial increase from 2018 - 2019, when total gambling losses were approximately $25.6 billion, with losses rising by around 26 per cent over the five-year period.[2]
Sport and Gambling Advertising: The Current Regime
Currently, gambling advertising and the promotion of betting odds during sporting events are subject to restrictions across both live broadcasts and online streaming. At all times, there are restrictions on the promotion of betting odds by broadcasters during play and scheduled breaks such as half-time. Additional rules apply between 5.00am and 8.30pm. During these hours, gambling advertising and the promotion of betting odds are prohibited from five minutes before the published scheduled start of play until five minutes after play begins, including during breaks in play.[3] Despite these restrictions, some forms of gambling-related advertising are allowed including gambling signage at sporting venues and references on players’ uniforms. [4]
Parliamentary Inquiry: The Murphy Report
The 2023 You Win Some, You Lose More report (‘the Murphy Report’) examined the regulatory framework for online gambling and gambling advertising.[5] The Murphy Report found that existing regulation, which places considerable emphasis on individual responsibility and “gambling responsibly”, was failing to address the broader public health impacts of our current management of gambling advertising. In response, the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs made 31 recommendations to reduce gambling harm, including an immediate prohibition of all online gambling inducements and inducement advertising, and a phased total ban on advertising for online gambling.[6]
The New Changes and Penalty Framework
The most significant changes introduced by the Amendment Bill include the establishment of a national wagering advertising opt-out register for sports betting on all online streaming services and an extended advertising blackout around live sporting events. Under the reforms, gambling advertisements will be prohibited for 15 minutes before and five minutes after live sporting events broadcast between 5:00am and 8:30pm, an extension from 5 minutes before and after a live sporting broadcast. The Bill also bans wagering advertising at sports venues and on players’ and officials’ uniforms, as well as the use of athletes, celebrities and influencers to promote wagering. In addition, gambling advertising will be limited to three ads per hour between 5:00am and 8:30pm outside of live sporting matches.[7]
Another significant aspect of the Amendment Bill is the enhanced penalty framework it introduces. Under the new changes, individuals and companies face penalties ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 civil penalty units for contravening the reforms, with one prohibition carrying a penalty of 25,000 penalty units. [8] In an article published by law firm Johnson Winter Slattery, 5,000 penalty units equate to $1.82 million AUD (at the time of writing in late August). [9]
Do the Changes Go Far Enough?
There is broad bipartisan and public consensus that the Gambling Reform Bill 2026 falls short of the ambition set out in the Murphy Report to address gambling as a public health issue. While the reforms represent a significant step towards reducing the visibility and normalisation of gambling in Australian sport, they stop short of substantially disrupting the broader advertising ecosystem that the Murphy Report identified as contributing to gambling harm. The amendments leave several of the report’s key recommendations unimplemented, most notably Recommendation 26, which called for the phased introduction of a comprehensive ban on all forms of online gambling advertising.
According to polling by the Australian Institute, three in four Australians (77%) support a ban on gambling advertisements. [10] This suggests that the reforms may not fully reflect the strength of public support for more extensive restrictions. The reforms have also attracted criticism from within Parliament, with Nationals MP Pat Conaghan and Liberal MP Andrew Wallace crossing the floor to vote against the Bill on the basis that it did not go far enough. [11] Conaghan, who served on the parliamentary committee responsible for the Murphy Report, argued that many of the committee’s strongest recommendations had not been implemented and that this would allow the predatory practices of gambling agencies to continue. [12]
Where To From Here?
However, irrespective of this sentiment, the reforms will nevertheless change the way that professional sporting clubs and bodies, digital platforms, and broadcasters operate, perhaps encouraging them to enter an era of commercial reinvention to ensure they align their internal and external business practices with the amendments.
Sporting bodies, such as the AFL, NRL, and Cricket Australia (to name a few), as well as sporting clubs within those games, will need to rethink where their revenue streams come from, as stadium signage and venue naming rights will need to be stripped of any gambling company names and advertisements. [13] Similarly, given the reforms restrict the times at which gambling advertisements can be shown, broadcasters may experience reductions in ad revenue, although the impact of this may be limited as advertisements can still be broadcast during half-time breaks after 8:30pm. [14] Both broadcasters and digital platforms, such as social media companies, will need to consider their new statutory obligations in complying with the opt-out framework and restricting gambling advertising in line with the new reforms. [15]
The impact may also be felt on an individual level. As current and former sports players, celebrities, and influencers will no longer be able to promote and advertise betting products in their professional capacity, these people will need to seek out sponsorship and endorsement deals outside of the gambling industry - that is, specifically not from wagering operators. Although there may be concerns that this limits income streams for athletes, it is likely that any cost they will bear as a result of this will be outweighed by the benefits of not exposing younger audiences to gambling advertisements, which is why the reforms were passed in the first place. [16]
Conclusion
Ultimately, whilst Australia is yet to see a total ban on all forms of online gambling advertising, the Gambling Reform Bill 2026 represents a significant attempt to curb the harmful normalisation and impacts of gambling in the country’s sporting culture. What remains to be seen, however, is whether the Bill will be able to tackle the odds in an industry which has long profited on a culture of gambling and wagering.
References
[2]Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 (Cth), Explanatory Memorandum.
[3] https://www.acma.gov.au/gambling-ads-during-live-sport-streamed-over-internet
[4] https://www.acma.gov.au/gambling-ads-during-live-sport-broadcast-tv-and-radio
[5] House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, Parliament of Australia, You win some, you lose more, (Report, 2023) (‘The Murphy Report’).
[7] Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 (Cth).
[8] https://jws.com.au/what-we-think/changes-to-australian-gambling-advertising-laws/
[9] https://jws.com.au/what-we-think/changes-to-australian-gambling-advertising-laws/
[10] https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/polling-banning-gambling-advertising/
[12] https://patconaghan.com.au/my-statement-on-crossing-the-floor-for-better-gambling-reforms/
[14] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-29/kids-to-see-gambling-ads-under-labor-s-partial-ban/106738690
[16] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-29/kids-to-see-gambling-ads-under-labor-s-partial-ban/106738690