Australian MPs accuse Labor govt of being betting industry beneficiary

Amid campaigning ahead of the Australian election, independent MPs are putting pressure on the Labor government to continue momentum with gambling law reforms, believing that progress has stalled after years of parliamentary debate and investigations.

Betting and gaming, and its social impacts, have been hitting the headlines in Australia over the past few weeks in the context of upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 3 May, which will see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’ Labor look to maintain its majority.

As campaigning ramps up, a recent report in the The Sydney Morning Herald indicates that there have been some political decisions among Labor cabinet members over Albanese’ decision to shelve gambling reforms until after the 2025 election.

Independent MPs – known in Australia as teal independents due to having broadly similar political agendas despite not being members of any particular party – have responded with criticism of the government on social media.

Allegra Spender, MP for Wentworth in New South Wales, wrote on X: “We can’t keep abandoning good policy for safe politics. The government should have acted to ban gambling ads already. It’s clear they will only have the courage if there are strong independent voices in the next parliament.”

We can’t keep abandoning good policy for safe politics.

The government should have acted to ban gambling ads already.

It’s clear they will only have the courage if there are strong independent voices in the next parliament. pic.twitter.com/oJb8C0wNYP

— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) April 21, 2025

Albanese first shelved the planned reforms back in November 2024, largely due to a desire to avoid a showdown with betting, media and sports organisations ahead of this year’s general election.

Reform had been a long-time coming for Australia, with a parliamentary inquiry in 2022 examining the societal impacts of gambling. As in other well established markets like the UK, Australia is also seeing an extensive public backlash against gambling advertising, particularly around sports.

Peta Murphy, the late Labor MP, was tasked with leading a federal inquiry into gambling as part of a 2022 Labor election manifesto pledge. His report was published in 2023 with several key recommendations, including a three year phased plan to eventually ban all forms of online gambling advertising across Australian media.

A blanket ban is not supported by all government politicians, however. Albanese himself seems reluctant to do so, favouring a more ‘measured’ approach, but MPs and ministers are keen to see extensive crackdowns, and the Herald reports that some government insiders believe that the PM is too cautious.

Statements X shared by Kate Chancey, MP for the Western Australian district of Curtin and a previous member of the parliamentary committee on gambling, and David Pocock, former Australia rugby union player and a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory, are indicative of the frustration some independent MPs have with the government’s progress.

This govt had 2 years to respond to our committee recommendations to clean up the online gambling industry. No matter who is in govt next, this must be addressed. #gamblingreform #auspol https://t.co/aTzJFeZJX0

— Kate Chaney (@ChaneyforCurtin) April 15, 2025

Not legislating a ban to prevent the enormous harm gambling advertising causes is one of the greatest failures of this parliament.

There was support to do it but the PM lacked the courage and chose not to.https://t.co/9WsDiSuwF7

— David Pocock (@DavidPocock) April 21, 2025

Labor’s alleged links to gaming lambasted

Some MPs have taken things a step further, however, and have directly targeted the government over having too close associations with Australia’s extensive betting and gaming industry.

The topic of poker machines or ‘pokies’ – a term for electronic gaming machines which are widespread across the country, similar to the FOBT machines found in UK high street betting shops – have been a particular area of concern for many MPs and public advocacy groups.

“The government is very quick to make the point that poker machines, the regulation of poker machines, is a state and territory government responsibility,” said independent Andrew Wilkie, MP for Clark in Tasmania, in a recorded statement shared on X earlier today.

“The federal government just uses that constantly as a copout to explain why it’s not their problem that the labor party is associated with numerous large clubs operating poker machines.

“There’s such a conflict of interest there with the Labor party. I’d be hard pressed to think of a political party in any other country in the world that is so substantial and directly beneficially associated with gambling.”

As in the UK and other countries, donations and gifts to political candidates and parties have also come under scrutiny in Australia in recent years. The gifting of tickets to sporting events to MPs, for example, was called out in the media last year.

In more recent developments, politicians in the Northern Territory have been calling for the state government to ban betting firms from giving gifts to the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission (NTRWC), arguing that this is a conflict of interest.

As Australians prepare to make up their minds at the polls, gambling looks set to be a big political battleground. Supporting pro-reform candidates are groups like the Alliance for Gambling Reform, which has been actively campaigning across the country.

In contrast, various industry stakeholders as well those in media and sports, will likely want to see candidates with more relaxed views on advertising win seats – though some sports organisations, like South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the National Rugby League (NRL), have been distancing themselves from betting in recent years.