An alliance of organisations has launched a campaign calling for reform to gambling advertising in Australia. Reverend Tim Costello from the alliance for gambling reform, argues that if the government can safeguard young people from social media. They surely can do the same when it comes to protecting the public from the dangers of gambling.
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00:00Among the organisations that have signed on is NSW domestic violence organisations, public
00:09health officials.
00:13What we know is that Christmas intensifies that sense of am I loved, am I wanted, do
00:20I have anyone who actually will invite me or have I got strained relations and anxiety
00:27really is now exploited by a phone in our hands, the betting apps, the sports bettors
00:37are betting not just on sport but they're betting on current events, elections, so suddenly
00:43you really neutralise the anxiety by more gambling.
00:48Gambling actually impacts every aspect of life.
00:53We know that if there's gambling in a family there's three times more likely domestic violence
00:57one of the great scourges we're trying to defeat.
01:01We know that when you're anxious about the shopping bill, electricity bill, paying the
01:06mortgage or the rent there is this need to solve the problem by actually having a flutter
01:14trying to gamble and you promise bonus incentives, money back incentives if you bet.
01:22We know that if you actually have a win on sports betting they slow you down, if you
01:26actually are losing you get more incentives to keep betting.
01:31So it profoundly affects the cost of living crisis for so many people.
01:36When we see parents particularly another gambling ad on TV, 18 months after Peter Murphy's report
01:43we have a collective psychic vomit.
01:45We say how is this still going on?
01:48We've expressed particularly in the Murphy review that we want a ban, 72% want a total
01:55ban phased in over three years.
01:57Look, in two days it's the 12 month anniversary of Peter Murphy's death.
02:02I know her and knew her and her widower Rod and she was one of the finest, bravest parliamentarians
02:11we had.
02:12I am very, very frustrated that we have not had a response to her inquiry that was multi-partisan
02:21in the recommendations and within almost six weeks we can get through world first legislation
02:28on a social media ban, which I support.
02:31But the same anxiety parents have about their kids on social media is precisely the same
02:36anxiety about their kids with gambling apps, their kids seeing gambling ads, them having
02:42to explain to their 10 year olds what a multi is.
02:46It is precisely the same anxiety, but we can't get movement there because very powerful
02:51people like Peter Vlandius of New South Wales Racing and Rugby is well, frankly elbows one
02:57of his best mates and the vested interests really have blocked this when it should have
03:03been legislated by now.
03:06What the difference is when they use the code word complexity is that the traditional media
03:12in Australia, seven with all the AFL sports betting ads, nine with all the NRL sports
03:17betting ads, Foxtel with sports betting ads, they were cheering the social media ban because
03:24it was Facebook and Meta and X.
03:27They are the ones who are benefiting from the sports betting ads.
03:33The complexity is the government won't actually stand up to them and to the AFL and NRL.
03:40That's what the complexity is.
03:41It's no more complex than that because we have a number of European nations that have
03:46banned the ads.
03:48It's working saying children shouldn't say that complexity is just an excuse for fear
03:54of vested interests.