The prime minister is being urged to follow through on a push to ban gambling ads, after appearing to soften his rhetoric on the issue.
Pressure is mounting on the federal government to carry on the legacy of Labor’s late anti-gambling advocate Peta Murphy and implement a total ban on gambling ads.
But Anthony Albanese continues to rebuff those calls, insisting a blanket prohibition is not the “bold” move others claim it is.
“The problem isn’t advertising, the problem is gambling,” he told ABC radio on Thursday.
“The easy option is just to (ban ads) and not worry about the consequences for sporting codes, junior sport, the media.”
Independent Senator David Pocock said the prime minister was missing the point.
“This is about banning advertising so gambling stops being normalised for children,” he told AAP.
“Kevin Rudd had the guts as prime minister to take on Big Tobacco and legislate plain packaging. Anthony Albanese needs to show the same courage here and ban gambling advertising.”
Members of the crossbench and his own party have urged Mr Albanese to carry out the recommendations of Ms Murphy’s report, which called for a total ban on gambling ads phased in over three years, but has sat unacted on for almost 15 months.
Australians lose about $25 billion gambling every year, making them the biggest losers in the world on a per capita basis.
However, Mr Albanese noted lotteries and scratchies were the most common gambling products, with 64 per cent of Australian adults participating in 2022.
That compares to the 38 per cent who bet on horse races and the 33 per cent who placed wagers on sports, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.
“I haven’t seen a campaign about advertising lotteries – which is a far bigger problem than sports gambling,” Mr Albanese said.
Previously, the Labor government was considering a partial ban on gambling ads, although experts warned that it might not be effective in reducing harm.
In August, Mr Albanese said the status quo on gambling ads was “completely unacceptable” and vowed further reforms.
But Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused the prime minister of walking back his position further with his latest comments.
“He’s dead wrong and it is extremely disappointing to see him backtracking,” she told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“The single most important thing we should do is stop the gambling industry from being able to advertise, just like we’ve done with tobacco, and just like we do on other issues.
“If the prime minister cares about community sport, he should fund community sport – hiding behind limp excuses created and parroted by the gambling lobby is not leadership.”
The Greens plan to introduce Senate legislation to ban gambling advertising across the board.
“We can debate this bill, we can get the laws changed and we can make it happen,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“The prime minister doesn’t have the guts to act.”
