Last week, the Albanese Government was presented with an open letter signed by over 60 high-profile Australians, in which they urged for gambling ads to be banned completely and for all 31 proposals in the late Peta Murphy’s “You win some, you lose more” report to be implemented. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald’s Paul Sakkal published today, Ms Murphy’s husband, Rod Glover, implored the government to follow through with her proposals.
Peta Murphy served as the head of The Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs prior to her passing in December 2023, and she helmed the inquiry into online gambling harm dubbed “You win some, you lose more.” Among the report’s proposals is a set of recommendations for a gradual restriction of gambling ads that would culminate in them being completely banned after several years.
The Greens Will Force a Senate Vote on Gambling Ads
Although the Murphy Report was published last summer, the government has not implemented its proposals yet, which has led to criticism. Complaints increased when early August saw the publication of reports from anonymous sources, according to which consultations between government officials and representatives of the gambling, sports, and media sectors resulted in an agreement to take a compromised approach towards ads.
The leaks revealed that betting ads on TV would be capped at two per hour until 10 pm, and adverts would be banned an hour before and after live sports events. Only ads that promote gambling on social media would be completely prohibited. As previously reported by Casino Guardian, gambling reform advocates were quick to call out the government for watering down the measures, and while an attempt was made to invite anti-gambling organisations to a briefing, the invitations included a controversial non-disclosure agreement.
Despite the pushback, reports have emerged that the government has taken the stance to defend its current position on gambling reform. In response, The Greens’ Hanson-Young announced that the party is planning on forcing a vote for the gambling ad prohibition. “Labour should honour the legacy of Peta Murphy, not the profits of parasites in the gambling lobby,” read Senator Hanson-Young’s statement on the Greens’ website.
The Case Against Gambling Ads
Many prominent Australians disagree with the government’s watered-down plans, as it became clear from an open letter that became public on August 10th. The letter contains over 60 signatures, among which are those of former prime minister John Howard, various independent MPs, NSW Secretary Mark Morey, and Victoria’s ex-premiers, Jeff Kennett and Steve Bracks. The open letter directly addressed PM Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton with a demand for all 31 recommendations in Peta Murphy’s report to be put into effect.
According to former PM John Howard, Australians were alarmed about the proliferation of gambling promotions on television and social media, as well as the staggering amount of money lost due to gambling. “I believe gambling losses are responsible for enormous harm across the community,” he added.
Martin Thomas, currently serving as the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, pointed out that Australians lose AU$25 billion because of gambling on an annual basis, a figure that no other country can match at the time of writing.
Rod Glover’s Plea
When speaking about Peta Murphy’s ambitions to combat the notion that sport and gambling went together, her husband, Rod Glover, described her main argument as follows: “In a really hard trade-off, you’ve got to put people first and think about what kind of future you want to create.”
While Mr Glover acknowledged that regardless of what stance the government takes, it will be met with pushback, he also told the Sydney Morning Herald that the question revolved around what government officials’ actions revealed about their leadership and “willingness to take on difficult debates” while knowing the risks involved. He further said that Murphy would not have wanted for the cabinet conversation to result in her being told “it was too hard.”
“She knows what hard is, she knows what courage is, and she would not cop the line that it was just too hard,” he stressed.
- Author
Daniel Williams
