The letter from the Alliance for Gambling Reform calls for a three-year phased ban of all gambling advertising in Australia. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Letter calls for three-year phased ban

Over 70 prominent Australians, including former Prime Ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, signed a letter to current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urging them to implement a complete ban on gambling ads in the country.

ban on all gambling advertising and the banning of inducements and promotions”

The letter, written and published by the Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR), specifically calls on the Australian government to adopt all 31 recommendations in last June’s Murphy Report, led by the late MP Peta Murphy. Of utmost importance to AGR is a “3-year, phased-in ban on all gambling advertising and the banning of inducements and promotions especially around sports betting which are unethically used to ensnare people who want to stop gambling.”

Former Prime Minister John Howard said in the letter that “gambling losses are responsible for enormous harm across the community,” adding: “As an unapologetic sports fan I am troubled by how advertising is now linked with all our major sporting codes and what message this is sending to our children.”

A happy middle ground?

Earlier this month, the Labor-controlled government rejected a total ad ban, instead recommending a cap of two gambling advertisements per hour on every television channel until 10pm. It also wants to prohibit ads during the hour before and after a live sporting event.

Despite not going along with a blanket television ad ban, Labor does want a complete ban on gambling ads on the internet, including social media. But the middle-ground position isn’t likely to satisfy anyone.

it’s a position that’ll piss everyone off”

The Sydney Morning Herald reported a source close to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland as saying: “It’s a position that’ll piss everyone off because the purists won’t get a ban and will still see ads on TV, but the sports and media companies will lose a big chunk of money.”

MP Murphy’s husband makes plea

Rod Glover, a Labor policy advisor, Professor of Political Leadership at Monash University, and the widower of Peta Murphy, told the Herald that he wishes his wife’s friends in government would honor her by adopting her recommendations.

“This is the closest thing that she’ll ever get to being in cabinet. So she won’t be in the room, but for the people in the room, I hope that they’re imagining she is,” Glover said.

Peta Murphy passed away in December 2023 at the age of 50 after a battle with breast cancer. At her memorial service, Prime Minister Albanese said she was the rare member of parliament who won “genuine admiration and real affection across the political spectrum.”

“They know where she stood on this. Her report was not an ambit claim,” he added. “Her main argument is really simple: in a really hard trade-off, you’ve got to put people first and think about what kind of future you want to create.”