Australia introduces gambling advertising reform bill

• Communications Minister Anika Wells has introduced the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Stop the Gambling Ads) Bill 2026 to Parliament.
• The bill caps television gambling ads at three per hour and bans promotions during live sport broadcasts.
• Wagering companies would help fund a new BetStop awareness levy, and the bill needs backing from the Coalition or the Greens to clear the Senate.

Australia’s federal government has introduced its long-awaited gambling advertising reform bill to Parliament, with Communications Minister Anika Wells presenting the legislation this week to cut children’s exposure to gambling ads, tighten consumer protections and widen enforcement against unauthorised operators.

Ad limits expand

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Stop the Gambling Ads) Bill 2026 targets the link between sport and wagering promotion. It restricts advertising across television, radio, online platforms and sporting venues, and hands the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) stronger powers over unauthorised gambling sites.

Television gambling ads would be capped at three per hour between 6:00am and 8:30pm, with a complete ban during live sports broadcasts in that window. Online ads would only reach users who are logged in, aged 18 or over, and given the option to opt out.

Radio ads would be barred during school drop-off and pick-up hours. Athletes, celebrities and influencers would be prohibited from promoting wagering products, and gambling branding would disappear from venues and playing uniforms.

Anika Wells, Communications and Sport Minister, said:

“Our reforms will break the connection between wagering and sport.”

Tanya Plibersek, Social Services Minister, joined Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to unveil the package in April and has linked unchecked gambling advertising to wider social harm.

Tanya Plibersek said:

“Gambling is increasingly recognised as a contributing factor in domestic violence.”

Enforcement powers widen

Beyond advertising, the bill would let banks and payment providers block transactions tied to unauthorised gambling operators, and gives ACMA faster powers to block unlawful gambling websites.

The government also plans to ban online keno products known as “pocket pokies” and foreign matched lotteries, and to tighten rules around trade promotion services to protect lotteries, charities and small businesses.

Wagering companies would also be required to help fund a national awareness campaign for BetStop, the self-exclusion register, through a higher industry levy. Wells said only about one in three bettors currently know the register exists.

BetStop has logged more than 60,000 registrations since its 2023 launch, according to ACMA data, adding to a run of self-exclusion rule breaches the regulator has pursued against operators. The government has pledged extra funding to widen public awareness of the scheme and expand gambling harm support services.

Senate support uncertain

The bill still needs backing from either the Coalition or the Greens to clear the Senate, and neither party has confirmed support. The Greens have forced a Senate inquiry into the legislation, arguing it falls short of the 2023 Murphy report’s recommendations.

Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens communications spokesperson, said:

“It has failed children, failed families, and failed the broader community.”

Some Labor MPs have also pushed for tougher advertising limits and stricter controls on gambling inducements. The government has argued that delaying the reform package announced earlier in 2026 would only postpone harm-reduction measures already agreed in principle.

For operators, the coming months carry real stakes. Broadcasters, sports codes and wagering companies now face a narrowing window to align sponsorship deals, ad buys and promotional structures with a framework that could still shift in the Senate, following scrutiny that has recently extended to an AML enforcement probe into one of the country’s largest wagering operators.

A referral to committee would push scrutiny past the winter recess, leaving the January 2027 start date and the shape of the final rules both open questions.