Federal Communications Minister of Australia – Michelle Rowland – has pledged that she will no longer accept monetary contributions from gambling companies after facing a strong wave of criticism for doing so in the past.
As Casino Guardian reported earlier in February, Ms Rowland has been urged to quit her role following local media revelations that the local betting giant Sportsbet had provided her with contributions and gifts while supporting her election campaign in March 2022. According to reports, the gambling company had not only paid more than AU$8,900 for a very special dinner for Ms Rowland and her friends but also made an AU$10,000 donation mere days before the poll took place in May 2022.
The reports for the massive monetary contributions resulted in harsh criticism for Ms Rowland because, in her job as a Communications Minister, she is responsible for overseeing the country’s online gambling policy.
At the time when the revelations took place, she argued that he had not violated any rules regarding political donations in Australia. Unfortunately, the gambling company’s money had an extremely negative effect on her reputation. That is why the Australian Communications Minister wanted to acknowledge that accountability and transparency were important to local customers and he believed that was a reasonable position to hold.
Sportsbet Donated AU$278,000 to the Three Major Political Parties, Transparency Register Records Show
As mentioned above, Ms Rowland shared that he would no longer take money from Sportsbet, even though she was in line with all the rules at the time she was carrying out her political campaign in 2022. According to her, the recent scandal highlighted the disclosure of political donations as a very important aspect of the relationship between the local gambling sector and politicians.
The Federal Communications Minister explained that the area needed a reform that was long overdue. She also noted that the Government has had a firm position on some issues, for example, reducing the disclosure threshold so that politicians were required to disclose a lower amount to the authorities. Ms Rowland promised to take part in a discussion on the matter if such a conversation is encouraged at a certain stage.
According to data provided by the ACE’s Transparency Register, Sportsbet made multiple political donations, with contributions to the Liberal Party, the Labour Party, and the National Party totalling more than AU$278,000 in the 2021/2022 period. The Coalition Government received AU$143,000, while the Labour Party received AU$135,000.
David Coleman, the country’s Shadow Communications Minister was asked whether the Coalition Government would continue to accept money from gambling operators as donations, provided with the fact that it previously drew benefit from the monetary contributions made by Sportsbet. Mr Coleman shared there was an ongoing review of the donation rules that was being held by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters and the further actions of the Government would depend on the result of that review and the recommendations made by the Committee.
- Author
Daniel Williams
